Houston Rockets sign Tarik Black to 1-Year, $3.2 Million Deal
The Rockets get their Montrezl Harrell replacement on the cheap.
The Houston Rockets’ off season is considered a huge success by the general populace. Adding someone with the talent level of CP3 to the high-octane offense of the Houston Rockets is a recipe for success. Daryl Morey had already done his job in the eyes of many.
What people forget, however, is that Morey had to give up a number of assets in order to get Paul. Patrick Beverley was the biggest name of the bunch that Morey traded to the Clippers, but someone who a lot of fans didn’t really notice in that trade was Montrezl Harrell, the rim-running center who served as the backup to the lengthy Clint Capela.
Houston needed someone to fill the void which Harrell left. The Rockets have a number of offensive weapons, but they were lacking players who could help out Capela in rebounding and defense (No, Ryan Anderson, you’re not the guy for the job.) Morey went to work, and opted to sign recently-waived Los Angeles Lakers center Tarik Black. Ironically, Black was actually waived by Houston two years ago before ending up in LA. Talk about going full circle.
Tarik Black 2016–17 Stats:
5.7 points (51% field goal percentage), 5.1 rebounds, .6 assists, .4 steals, .7 blocks
Fit:
Houston has two particular needs when it came to signing a free agent. First, that FA should be someone who could rebound, and second, he should at least be a decent defender who can survive against the Golden State Warriors. Let’s see if Black checks those two boxes.
Black averaged 5.1 rebounds per game last season in 16 minutes of play. That’s a far better number compared to the 3.8 which Harrell averaged last year with the Rockets, even though Harrell averaged more minutes that Black. If you want to look at the advanced metrics, Black had a REB% of 16.9% last year, while Harrell only managed to put up 11.1%.
Black was loved by fans in Los Angeles for his work ethic, and that was most evident when it came to his rebounding. Just look at this terrific job by Black to get the easy basket for the Lakers:
In that case, it’s safe to say that Black checks off box number one.
When discussing defense, the very first thing that most people will look at is the defensive rating of the player. Black had a DRTG of 105.5, which is respectable. For the case of comparison, his DRTG is equivalent to that of Nerlens Noel, who’s seen by many as an excellent defender.
Can he last against the Warriors? If you use him as a weak side defender who can go for the occasional contest? Sure. He’ll be very good at that. But the Warriors aren’t a normal basketball team. They love to take advantage of mismatches, and the Rockets were victim to this during their losses to Golden State last season. That’s not to say that Black will be as bad a defender as Ryan Anderson. He’ll certainly be better by putting up a better fight against, say, Kevin Durant. Just don’t expect him to completely shut down KD or Steph. With that, I guess we can give this a check for Black. He won’t be completely unusable versus the Warriors.
Offensively, Black is very limited. If this was some other team, that would be a problem. But this is the Houston Rockets, who love to shoot a billion threes every game. When shooting that many shots, you need someone to grab those rebounds or at the very least, act as an option for the lob if there’s an opening off the pick and roll. Black is your man for that.
Even though LA was a horrid team last year, Black never really had the chance to handle the ball that much in the low block. That’s a good thing for the Rockets, since Los Angeles was basically preparing him for this gig with Houston ever since. Take a look at this great lob thrown by Jordan Clarkson:
That skill of Black’s is going to be maximized even more with Houston. Not only does he have James Harden, someone who has had a penchant for throwing lobs ever since his Oklahoma City days, but Black also has Chris Paul by his side. CP3, who made DeAndre Jordan look like a complete monster in the pick and roll game, just so happened to be the mayor of the City that was previously known as Lob.
What can he work on?
It would be unfair to ask Black to learn how to shoot three-pointers overnight. Ever since he was a Jayhawk in Kansas, that’s never been his game. Tarik Black is the epitome of a workhorse. He’ll be the guy who will do the dirty things for you, so if you want him to work on something, it’s doing his job at an even better rate.
Offensively, the biggest weakness of Black throughout his career has been his sub-par free-throw shooting. Last year he improved by making 75% of his freebies, but those were only off 1.6 attempts. For the most part, Tarik has averaged 56% at the most from the free throw line, a number which the Rockets would hate to see from him. If those numbers pop out come the playoffs, Hack-A-Black will be a thing.
Defensively, the biggest thing that he can work on is improving his foot speed. He doesn’t necessarily have to turn into Kawhi Leonard all of a sudden. That’s impossible. The minimum requirement is for Black to be able to stay in front of players like Durant and Curry off switches long enough for the defense to send help. Getting his feet quicker is a small thing to ask for, but it’s something that will benefit the Rockets greatly if Tarik is able to work on it. Teams like the Warriors love to pounce on mismatches, and the Rockets would be blessed if their centers are able to somehow hold their own when the need arises.
Grade: A
Harrell was a great player for Los Angeles. He was a great asset offensively with his ability to run to the rim for easy buckets, although his rebounding wasn’t that strong. In Tarik Black, Houston gets someone who not only loves to receive lobs as a rim-runner, but is also a great rebounder. That’s a terrific signing.
Slowly but surely, Houston’s roster is starting to take shape after losing a number of key pieces to get Chris Paul. Black fits nicely as a backup big for the Rockets, who will try to give the Golden State Warriors a run for their money come the playoffs.
