A year ago, the Houston Rockets won a franchise record of 65 games and pushed the Golden State Warriors to a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference Finals. If there wasn't an injury to Chris Paul late in Game 5, the Rockets could get in the Finals and won the first champion since 1995.
Yet, regrettably, over the offseason, the Rockets signed a four-year-deal that costs 160-million with Chris Paul who's performance seems overpaid in the new season. To top it all, they lost Trevor Ariza, a key piece of their run last year. They decided to essentially replace Ariza and Mbah a Moute with James Ennis and Carmelo Anthony, which failed miserably.
It was blatantly obvious early on in the season that Houston missed their 3D players and their assistant coach Jeff Bzdelik, as its defense lost vital pieces and the Rockets lost an edge as a team overall.
Houston ended up recovering to win only 53 games, but it fizzled out in the second round of the playoffs in a six-game loss to the Warriors.
You have to wonder how different the Rockets’ season would have been if Trevor Ariza, a top quality 3D player, hadn't departed.
Although, the downturn of Chris Paul is also a main reason that Rockets can't go further in the playoffs, but we have already reinforce our back court players by signing Austin Rivers in the mid-season. The Rockets offered him a mid-level exception but he chosed to sign a vet minimum deal for 2 years that only costs 2.1M per year. Even more, Rockets traded Chris Paul to the Oklahoma Thunder, getting an younger All-Star point guard: "Mr. Triple-Double" Russell Westbrook.
Harden+Russ+Rivers+Gordon+Gerald Green there's no doubt that the Rockets have the best guards line-up in the league. So if the Rockets want to get a Champion, it's obviously that they need a Small-Forward or a Power-Forward (because PJ Tucker can also play SF)
Let's assume that Fertitta is willing to pay the luxury tax, than, what kind of SF does we really need? All-Star players are fantastic, yet we don't have enough budget. According to my analysis, there are 3 main factors that can scale if a small forward is suitable for the Rockets.
1. Toughness
Toughness is the most underrated commodity in the NBA because there isn't any data that can descript a players toughness. While talent certainly reigns supreme, toughness can make all the difference in a playoff series between two otherwise evenly matched teams. Take an example, in a 3-3 tied playoff series, game 7 clutch time, a tough player could get a priceless offensive rebound that change the game result, but a talented player couldn't.
Last year, Trevor Ariza brought that brand of toughness to the Rockets, and when Houston lost him to the Phoenix Suns in free agency, it is not only losts of a role player but they also lost a piece of the team’s beating heart.
While Chris Paul(Russell Westbrook now) and PJ Tucker are tough guys in their own right, but having Ariza around had made the Rockets even more grittier. It’s one of those things where Houston discernibly felt his absence.
Due to the increase of salary, there is no chance for Rockets to bring him back, yet we still need a strong SF player. Former Rockets Coach Rudy Tomjanovich had said:"Don't ever underestimate the heart of a championship." The heart means the toughness of the players, it also means the determination of winning the campaign.
2. More Shooting
The Rockets’ entire offensive strategy is predicated on floor spacing, former Rockets player Trevor Ariza provided even more of that for Mike D’Antoni.
Even though Ariza only shot 36.8 percent from the three-point line during his final season with the Rockets, which is just above the average, he is still indispensable.
Yet, why is Ariza irreplaceable? Let's see what Kevin Durant evaluate on defenders a year ago: "I want to be a player that no one can guard me. I'm very close to the goal but there are four players that can slow me down, they are Trevor Ariza, Paul George, Kawhi Leonard, and Joe Ingles." Trevor Ariza is one of the best small forward defender, Kobe Bryant's best partner and teammate.
According to the budget and the salary that the Rockets can provide, we have no chance to get a defender like Ariza, but there are some wingman that haven't get a contact. Which they have more accuracy and cold blood 3 pointers, and we can sign one of them by vet minimum contact.
But why, some say, a wingman that has his offense over his defence? There's a fantastic and fancy way to solve this question. As the saying goes, "The way for guarding a super-star does not exist. The only two things that we can do is, increase our defensive quality to limit your opponent's influence in his team, and choose a player that has self-offensive ability which can isolation on him to consume his fitness." We already have PJ Tucker, the best 1-on-1 defender (said by Durant few days ago), maybe, a better offensive player with defence above average is the answer for Rocket's wingman.
The mere threat of Ariza’s shooting ability at the four opens up the entire floor for the Rockets, and while Houston already has numerous shooters on its roster to begin with, adding a 3D player like Ariza or even better shooting would only make them more lethal in that category.
In today’s NBA, it’s about having as many shooters on the floor as possible, especially when you have a guy like James Harden constantly handling the ball. Surrounding Harden with countless shooters is always an ideal thought.
3. Defensive Versatility
That brings us to the biggest reason why the Rockets need a 3D player: defensive versatility.
A major factor in Houston’s success against the Warriors in 2018 was Ariza’s ability to switch everything on the perimeter, which nearly eliminated Golden State’s pick-and-roll with Stephen Curry.
Ariza has the length, the footspeed, and the instincts to seriously bother any of the elite point guards in the entire NBA, allowing him to completely blow up high screen-and-rolls.
The Dubs had a lot of trouble figuring the Rockets’ defense out last spring, and that had everything to do with the fact that Houston had the ability to switch everything with Ariza and Tucker.
And the main point is that no one can replace Ariza's defensive role, work, and ability, neither Danuel House nor Eric Gordon. Even though Eric Gordon has proved he's a fantastic defender facing Utah Jazz and Donovan Mitchell in the playoffs in the post-season, his height limited what he can do in defence. Because Tucker is only 6ft 6in (198cm), if Houston try to play Small Ball Lineup, which includes Tucker, Harden, Gordon, Rivers, Westbrook, then rebounding will turn in to a totally disaster. Can their speed and their isolation ability offset the nightmare in the painted area? That's a dilemma for the Rockets.
A wingman would provide the Rockets with the same versatility that they sorely missed in Games 5 and 6 of this past second round when Curry lit them up. Rumors from Rely Iko points out that the Rockets have a mind to sign Luc Mbah a Moute, he could be the second player that re-sign with the Rockets.
No matter what happens, Houston needs a wingman, come and get a Championship with us!! 🏆
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