The Houston Rockets open the 2019-20 regular season on Thursday evening with a highly publicized match-up against the Milwaukee Bucks on TNT. While the Rockets underwent a roster makeover with the addition of Russell Westbrook during the summer, expectations are high once again for James Harden’s team and, in short, the face-off with the Bucks will draw a ton of attention for on-court reasons. Before tip-off, though, the Rockets made a bit of news with an off-court activity and it came to light as the players were arriving at the Toyota Center.
For visual evidence, the Rockets shared an interesting video of Westbrook entering the building in a trademark outfit.
https://twitter.com/HoustonRockets/status/1187494175622778880
While that might not seem unique, a closer look would reveal that the Rockets had a red carpet rolled out for the team’s players and Stefano Fusaro of ESPN brings word that it won’t be the only time.
James Harden arriving for the Rockets home opener. Yes, the team has added a red carpet and a DJ for their player arrivals. I’m told this will be for the first 3 games and weekend games for the rest of the season. pic.twitter.com/Yi4fshOIeR
— Stefano Fusaro (@S_Fusaro) October 24, 2019
In fact, Harden, Westbrook, Eric Gordon and the rest of the Rockets won’t only be utilizing the red carpet on multiple occasions, but the team is also deploying an in-house DJ to seemingly provide hype for the entrances. By any measure, this is a bit over-the-top, particularly with the revelation that this isn’t an activity that will only happen for opening night.
It is fair to see that the players, particularly with Harden and Westbrook, might enjoy the opportunity to strut their stuff in a more suitable environment than a traditional walk in from the loading dock. Still, the choice is certainly a bold one and it will be interesting to see what the reaction is when the rest of the league takes notice.
