LAKE CHARLES, La. — When James Ennis III was cleared to play after missing the Rockets’ workouts in the Bahamas with a strained calf muscle, Mike D’Antoni was not free to watch.
But he did have intelligence operatives on hand to keep him informed. The Rockets were in their marathon basketball operations meetings last week when players went through five-on-five offseason workouts at Toyota Center. When they were over, Chris Paul took a place on a training room table and began texting the Rockets coach holed up in a conference room.
D’Antoni asked if Ennis looked good.
“No,” Paul answered.
D’Antoni barely had time to worry when another update followed.
“He looked great,” Paul texted.
It turns out, running the floor and diving for loose balls in an offseason pickup game will turn heads. After three days of training camp at McNeese State, Ennis has continued to draw raves for his play at the retooled small forward position.
“James didn’t get to play with us in the Bahamas so to see his energy here is really good,” Paul said. “I think energy is contagious. You see the way he plays on the offensive end, going for rebounds, shooting the ball, defensively. That’s contagious. That’s why P.J. (Tucker) is the way he is.”
More than a long, lean version of Tucker, the Rockets’ burly dirty-work power forward, Ennis, 6-7, joined the Rockets this summer as an overshadowed free agent with a minimum contract with Tucker’s stamp of approval. Though far more attention elsewhere had been placed on the players that left (Trevor Ariza and Luc Mbah a Moute) and another that arrived (Carmelo Anthony), Tucker lobbied for Ennis.
“I made calls for James this year because I thought he’d fit our team,” Tucker said. “I texted our GM and people in our personnel (department). I thought he’d fit our team and he’s proven that these first few days of camp. He comes in, he works hard, he runs the floor, he offensive rebounds and he does a lot of small things. That’s what we need.
“I know basketball. I know players. I knew he could be a person who can help our team.”
Ennis showed some of that ability to run the floor in Wednesday’s scrimmage when he blew past nearly every teammate on the floor to rise for an alley-oop slam impressive not as much for getting above the rim but for his ability to so swiftly get from one end of the floor to the other to take that fast-break pass from James Harden.
“James does an unbelievable job of being active,” Harden said. “He competes at a high level. He’s all over the place, all over the court. I saw him running. He ran from the baseline to the other end of the court. He beat everybody up the court. He has that energy we’re looking for.”
Ennis, 28, will likely have to shoot from the 3-point arc well enough for D’Antoni to get his defense and energy consistent playing time. He has made 35.9 percent of his 3s in four NBA seasons with the Heat, Pelicans, Grizzlies and Pistons. He has split time with Eric Gordon with the starters, with the Rockets considering going with a three-guard group to start. But he showed enough that when the Rockets gathered for Thursday’s video session, D’Antoni emphasized Ennis’ play.
