Rockets revamped roster coming together quickly

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For all the changes to the Rockets' roster —just seven of the 20 players in camp played more than five games with the team last season — when Trevor Ariza was asked what has stood out most in the first three days of practices he said, "How fast things have come together."

"With a veteran group, they understand how to play the game so it's all about how fast you come together, understand the concepts and get better," said Ariza, whose 13 NBA seasons are second only to Nene's 15 on the Rockets. "Every group is different. This group has a lot of competitive spirit.

"When you have veteran players, you've seen a lot so you understand different schemes, different concepts. When you get veterans from other teams coming from other situations, they're able to pick up on it really fast."

Rockets guard Chris Paul said there is still a great deal of work to be done, with the emphasis on the defense.

"We're working," he said. "For us, it's all about building our principles. I think everyone knows our offense, what it's going to be capable of. That part is not going to be easy, either. We're still trying to figure out our sets. The thing we're mainly focused on is defense. It takes time, but one thing about it, it's tough playing against the pace of our offense. We're going at it every day, figuring it out.

"I think we're all excited about the next few days, but we're more excited about getting a chance to play against somebody else."

Rockets guard Eric Gordon works with the Whataburger mascot during media day. Rockets guard Eric Gordon works with the Whataburger mascot during media day. Photo: Jon Shapley, Houston Chronicle Photo: Jon Shapley, Houston Chronicle Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Rockets revamped roster coming together quickly 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

The Rockets have two-a-day sessions Friday and Sunday, with a day off on Saturday. The preseason schedule opens on Tuesday against Oklahoma City.