Working with Rockets' second unit, Carter-Williams welcomes benefits of working with veterans

LAKE CHARLES, La. - With Rockets guards James Harden and Chris Paul preferring to work in scrimmages with the same group, as they will to start and finish games, Michael Carter-Williams received extensive playing time with the second unit. That allows him to work against one of the league’s top point guards at all times, rather than off the ball if Paul worked in practices as the backup point.

“Oh, it’s great,” Carter-Williams, who signed with the Rockets as a free agent in July. “I’ve learned a lot each day from those guys, two veteran guys that have been in the game for a while, two great players. I’ve learned … I got to compete every single possession to match their intensity each day and then, I’ve got to try to make them better.

“It doesn’t matter how good you are; you can always get better. I try to do anything, find anything, exploit any weakness they have so they can get better.”

In his sixth season, Carter-Williams can be considered a veteran, too, though he said, “I forget that sometimes. I try to learn something every day. How can I make the team better? How can I make our group and the team we’re playing against better?

“It’s been fun. It’s been great. I was hurt for training camp the past few years so to come out here and get a good training camp in and build some chemistry is real valuable to me.”

Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said Carter-Williams has looked ready to be a fill-in at the point if Harden or Paul are out, but that the play is still to have Paul work as the backup point.

“We keep either James or Chris on the floor all the time,” D’Antoni said. “We’ll still stagger James and Chris so MCW will be off the ball more than he does in scrimmages. That’s just the way our team is made up. But if we needed him if someone got injured or was out of the game, he would be the backup point. He can play off the ball, too. He’s in a good spot. James and Chris like to play together (in practices) because they’re still learning what they can do.”

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https://www.houstonchronicle.com/sports/rockets/article/Michael-Carter-Williams-versatility-Rockets-camp-13268774.php