2017 NBA Offseason Review: Houston Rockets

The Rockets increased their risk profile this offseason in hopes of creating a legitimate contender

Patrick Oxford
Aug 8, 2017 · 5 min read
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The Houston Rockets had one of the best offseasons as Daryl Morey pushed nearly all of his chips to the center of the table. The Rockets struck early, not allowing Chris Paul to hit free agency before bringing him into the fold. There may still be one more move out there (we all know what it is), but with no hard deadline nearing it may be an issue that doesn’t get resolved in the immediate future (or the trade happens between me writing this and it getting published).

Key Losses

The Rockets had to move several parts of last season’s rotation to acquire Chris Paul, but seeing as it allowed them to retain their exceptions it was well worth it. The outgoing package of players included Patrick Beverley, Lou Williams, Montrezl Harrell, and Sam Dekker along with a first round pick.

Patrick Beverley is the notable loss of the group, and I’d be lying if said I couldn’t have seen him retiring as a Rocket 4 months ago. But Beverley has come and revealed on the Woj pod and possibly to others that he himself requested a trade seeking a bigger role. The Rockets were able to find a mutually beneficial deal for themselves and Beverley, giving him the opportunity shine with more responsibility for the Clippers.

Williams, Harrell, and Dekker could have all been productive members for the Rockets this upcoming season had they still been on the roster, and they should all be able to find minutes in the Clippers rotation.

Key Additions

Chris Paul is the most important addition of free agency, and he brought help with him. Luc Mbah a Moute signed for the veteran’s minimum and brings defensive versatility to a roster that was lacking it last season. P.J. Tucker was another huge defensive addition to a Rockets roster that now looks capable of fielding a top 10 unit on both sides of the court (much closer to 1 than 10 offensively of course).

The last significant move to talk about is bringing in Tarik Black. Last season Nene was injured in the playoffs against the Spurs and the Rockets didn’t have depth that Mike D’Antoni felt he could count on to stay big, but Black should be able to fill in for Nene more effectively than Harrell could against bigger frontcourts.

The Rockets currently have two rookies on the team, Zhou Qi and Cameron Oliver. Oliver went undrafted in June, but the Rockets were quick to step in and bring him into the fold. He has the kind of game that should thrive in a D’Antoni offense with elite athleticism and his size and a shooting stroke to stretch the floor. He attacks the defensive glass, something not all stretch 4’s excel at. I think Oliver has a chance to see action relatively soon.

Zhou Qi is an extremely unique prospect standing at 7'2 with over a 7'7 wingspan. He can stretch the floor and shows a little bit of potential putting the ball on the ground and getting the to the rim. He didn’t look impressive at all in summer league and will likely spend a large portion of next season in the G-League playing for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.


Expectations for this season

The Rockets have high expectations for this season, but I think the organization knows they are at least one move away from really challenging the Warriors in a series. They could still pull an upset with this roster, but a match-up between the two teams would most certainly not be seen as two relatively even matched opponents going head to head.

A realistic standings goal for this season (and one that shouldn’t be underestimated in difficulty) is getting back to the 2 seed. The Thunder and Spurs will both be looking to get home court advantage in the 2nd round as well, and avoiding the 4 seed is even more vital.

Possibly more important than milking out as many wins from the regular season as possible is building a game-plan that will have success in the postseason. D’Antoni will need to find lineups to match any kind of scenario the Warriors, Thunder, or Spurs could throw at them during the playoffs. Defensively there are plenty of weapons to throw at the Warriors stars, but when you are at this level of talent, maximizing lineup production is important. I’d like to see D’Antoni throw a bunch of different lineups out there over the course of the regular season, thereby getting a decent sample size (150+ minutes) on ten or so in order for educated decisions to be made in the playoffs.

Chemistry issues need to be resolved, and if that means that Chris Paul and James Harden have a few disagreements early on in the season it will be fine so long as those issues are gone come playoff time. There is definitely a contrast in their personalities, but they are both driven by the desire to win and should they learn to work well together, they have the potential to be the deadliest backcourt in NBA history.

The Rockets have set themselves up well to be competitive for at least this year, and should Chris Paul decide to return next season the Rockets could outlast the Warriors and have tax bills accumulate. With Harden signed long-term though, the Rockets will continue to recruit top-tier talent even if Paul makes this a 1 year stop.

Patrick Oxford

Written by

Writer for The 94 Feet Report, Scout, Coach

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