Threw the Net: Houston Rockets

Houston Rockets

The Trailblazers bounced the Rockets in the first round and there are doubts about the leadership of James Harden and Dwight Howard. Kevin McHale is not a great coach and the team lost key contributors in Jeremy Lin, Chandler Parsons and Omer Asik. Losing those three will be tough but the Rockets will still make the playoffs because they have the best shooting guard and center in the league. Enough has been said about Harden’s defense but the fact of the matter is that he is a superstar. Nobody says anything when Carmelo or Kobe let up on plays but when Harden does it it becomes a YouTube sensation. If there is anyone who warrants more unfair criticism than Harden (well Lebron) it’s his teammate Dwight Howard. People just love to hate Dwight and even after averaging 18, 12, and almost 2 blocks, and the criticism still rings clear. Dwight is still a great two way player and the most dominate center in the league. Dwight’s two former teams, the Magic and the Lakers, are straight terrible so it seems as if Dwight made the perfect decision in coming to Houston.

The Rockets drafted Chris Capela but don’t look for him to make a large impact this season. The Rockets also drafted Nick Johnson, a swiss tool type who can do just about everything. Johnson could be another Parsons, which would not surprise anyone when looking at Daryl Morey’s track record. Johnson and Capela could spend their first season in the D-League. Terrence Jones was solid, averaging 12 and 7 but he is still only 22. If Jones were to ever develop a three point shot, he would be a very good player. I’m a big fan of Jones, as he could be in for a big year with more opportunities on offense without Parsons, Lin and Asik. Donatas Motiejunas will fight for the starting power forward position but he faces an uphill battle. Montejunas has the potential to be a stretch four but is still very raw. Patrick Beverley might be the best point guard perimeter defender and his added three point shot adds to his value.

It all starts and ends with Harden (left) and Howard (right)

Question: How will the Rockets cope with the losses of Lin, Parsons, and Asik?

The main ingredient in the Rockets is three point shooting. Losing Parsons meant losing a guy who hosted up a lot of threes. How did they replace him? Trevor Ariza was picked up after his great year with Washington as he looks like he could actually be a better fit for Houston than Parsons. The Rockets acquired Kostas Papanikolaou, a Greek swingman who has impressed over the preseason. Isaiah Canaan will take Lin’s spot at backup point guard, something he looks more than ready to do. Canaan is a scoring point guard, similar to Isaiah Thomas. Asik was not that effective over the course of 2013 and I’d expect Jones and Montejunas to take up his remaining minutes. Playoff hero Troy Daniels is a lights out shooter who is a better player than Jason Terry. The Rockets acquired Terry but I doubt he’ll contribute anything when it comes time for the playoffs.

X:Factor: Trevor Ariza

Trevor Ariza will decide how far the Rockets go in the playoffs. This seems weird as the Rockets rely on their two superstars. But the Rockets need another source of scoring and Ariza provides a threat from the three point line. Ariza is nowhere near the scorer Parsons is but is a better spot up shooter. Parsons and Lin, for their faults, are very good at creating their own shot. Ariza cannot score off the dribble but is a much better defender than Parsons. Ariza shot 40% from the 3 point line while Parsons shot 37% last year. Ariza is a lockdown defender and does the things the Rockets need from the small forward position. Ariza is also signed to almost half the price that Parsons is signed so at what looked like a bad move, might end up better in the long run. Ariza provides more flexibility and could always be moved which is what Morey wants. Parsons for 15 million looks so much worse than Parsons for one million and I’d personally have Arizoa for 8 million. I truly believe the Rockets will be better this year even if they lost Asik, Lin and Parsons.