In the wake of Houston shipping Clint Capela to Atlanta, the word was that the Rockets were exploring the market for bigs. However, Morey's hoarding of versatile frontcourt pieces has said otherwise. Houston appears committed to their unorthodox approach to small-ball basketball with their recent additions of forwards DeMarre Carroll and Jeff Green.
DeMarre Carroll's time in San Antonio was shrouded in disappointment on behalf of both sides. After racking up 15 straight DNP-CDs, Carroll's frustration over playing time surged and a buyout between the two parties seemed inevitable. While Carroll struggled to produce in limited minutes for the Spurs having only scored 2.2 points per game on an uncharacteristic 23% clip from deep, the 33-year-old forward should provide intensity and defensive versatility off the bench for a retooled Houston squad.
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Jeff Green was waived by the Utah Jazz back in December and now finds himself reunited with former Thunder teammates Russell Westbrook, James Harden and Thabo Sefolosha. A bitter start to the season saw Green's time in Salt Lake City come to a quick finish as he averaged a career-low 7.8 points per game while shooting 38% from the field. Per Adrian Wojnarowski, Green will initially sign with Houston on a 10-day deal to "give him a chance to become comfortable with the fit before committing to a deal for the rest of the season".
The main concern regarding the Rockets is just how effective can their extreme small-ball lineup be? It's odd, it's peculiar and a squad so vertically challenged hadn't been used since the Knicks in 1963 until the Rockets used an all 6'6" and under team to beat the Mavericks 128-121.
Houston hasn't made the decision to play extreme small-ball blindly. Although a small sample size, the Rockets have experimented with such a lineup just under a dozen times.
In games in which Houston plays without a single appearance from a big, they are 3-0 versus Dallas, New Orleans and the Western frontrunning Los Angeles Lakers. The game of basketball is usually dictated by who wins the battle on the boards but Houston play on these nights has told much a different story. Dallas, New Orleans and Los Angeles sit 4th, 5th and 7th among teams in rebounds per game and came away outrebounding Houston 52 to 37, 63 to 43 and 38 to 37 in their respective matchups. Despite this clear backboard dominance, especially by Dallas and New Orleans, Houston's high pace play (2nd in the league) and potent offensive production from former MVPs Russell Westbrook and James Harden made up for their deficiencies when it came to snagging rebounds,
Houston may be opting to play big-less but that doesn't mean they don't have any tall timber on deck. In games in which a big such as Isaiah Hartenstein or Tyson Chandler play rotational minutes or less, Houston are 3-2 including a 9-point win over Miami and an 11-point win over the Boston Celtics. Overall, the Houston Rockets without Clint Capela have been a promising 12-3 against decent competition.
Houston plans to use its two open roster spots on forwards DeMarre Carroll and Jeff Green. https://t.co/ZbjKbr3DVJ— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 17, 2020
DeMarre Carroll's time in San Antonio was shrouded in disappointment on behalf of both sides. After racking up 15 straight DNP-CDs, Carroll's frustration over playing time surged and a buyout between the two parties seemed inevitable. While Carroll struggled to produce in limited minutes for the Spurs having only scored 2.2 points per game on an uncharacteristic 23% clip from deep, the 33-year-old forward should provide intensity and defensive versatility off the bench for a retooled Houston squad.
Carroll signed a 3-year, $21M deal with the Spurs in July
Jeff Green was waived by the Utah Jazz back in December and now finds himself reunited with former Thunder teammates Russell Westbrook, James Harden and Thabo Sefolosha. A bitter start to the season saw Green's time in Salt Lake City come to a quick finish as he averaged a career-low 7.8 points per game while shooting 38% from the field. Per Adrian Wojnarowski, Green will initially sign with Houston on a 10-day deal to "give him a chance to become comfortable with the fit before committing to a deal for the rest of the season".
Green has been on 7 different teams in the past 5 seasons
The main concern regarding the Rockets is just how effective can their extreme small-ball lineup be? It's odd, it's peculiar and a squad so vertically challenged hadn't been used since the Knicks in 1963 until the Rockets used an all 6'6" and under team to beat the Mavericks 128-121.
Houston hasn't made the decision to play extreme small-ball blindly. Although a small sample size, the Rockets have experimented with such a lineup just under a dozen times.
In games in which Houston plays without a single appearance from a big, they are 3-0 versus Dallas, New Orleans and the Western frontrunning Los Angeles Lakers. The game of basketball is usually dictated by who wins the battle on the boards but Houston play on these nights has told much a different story. Dallas, New Orleans and Los Angeles sit 4th, 5th and 7th among teams in rebounds per game and came away outrebounding Houston 52 to 37, 63 to 43 and 38 to 37 in their respective matchups. Despite this clear backboard dominance, especially by Dallas and New Orleans, Houston's high pace play (2nd in the league) and potent offensive production from former MVPs Russell Westbrook and James Harden made up for their deficiencies when it came to snagging rebounds,
Houston may be opting to play big-less but that doesn't mean they don't have any tall timber on deck. In games in which a big such as Isaiah Hartenstein or Tyson Chandler play rotational minutes or less, Houston are 3-2 including a 9-point win over Miami and an 11-point win over the Boston Celtics. Overall, the Houston Rockets without Clint Capela have been a promising 12-3 against decent competition.
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