Piggybacks in Space! Rockets oddball signing of Michael Carter-Williams.
“Michael Carter-Williams has reached deal with Rockets, source tells ESPN.” 10:59 AM — Jul 3, 2018 _ via Adrian Wojnarowski @wojespn
The Rockets signed the guy who James Harden infamously tried to get a piggyback ride from during a game against the Bulls!
Did the Houston Rockets sign Michael Carter-Williams so he can carry Harden around on his back during the season to save wear and tear on Harden from having to carry his own heavy beard and ego around?
Or did they just sign him because Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta lost a bet with Hornets owner Michael Jordan during a night of Champagning and Campaigning? Or perhaps the ghost of Sam Hinkie has some magic power over the Rockets organization? Or does Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey and his sexual fascination with numbers see something the rest of us don’t?
If you know a little about the NBA then all of the above have faint hint of possibility to them. Unless we do see MCW carrying Harden on his back to the team’s bus and plane the best answer is a little bit of the last two. MCW was Sam Hinkie’s first draft pick at the 76’ers and before that Sam worked under Daryl Morey at the Rockets, so I am betting some “birdie” thinks there is still hope for the non-shooting MCW.
As anyone with vision knows, MCW really struggles to do the two things the Rockets like to do, make point blank shots and make 3pt shots. So why did they sign him? I suspect because he is still young, long and versatile and mostly because of some of his defensive stats like his Percentage Points Difference (DIFF%).
The DIFF% stat is “The difference between the normal percentage of a shooter on shots throughout the season and the percentage on shots when the defensive player or team is guarding the shooter.” Out of the last five years in the league, he has had a negative number twice and less than a 1 another year and that includes his years on an awful 76’ers team. He seems actually pretty good at defending the 3 pointers and shots greater than 15ft which fits into the defensive needs of all teams nowadays. The guy does have other tools to work with since he has five triple-doubles to his name, that happens to be as many or more than guys like Vince Carter, Marc Gasol, Kevin Love and Hoodie Melo! There is something there and so far only Brent Brown has found it.
If you consider the fact that Rockets head Coach Mike D’Antoni served as an associate head coach under Brent Brown in 2015. It might be possible that the ancient and secret art of MCW whispering was passed on during that time and that we may see magical results this year due to it, assuming MCW legs hold up. Coach D’Antoni’s freestyle system might fit him better than anyone suspects. Honestly he doesn’t have to shoot much, he just has to feed the post to Nene or drive and dish to Eric Gordon and help crash the boards and play tight defense. Maybe the Rockets think they can turn him into their version of Shawn Livingston with some post work.
To the “geniuses” on Twitter this signing was comedy gold about missed layups, but to some folks at Basketball in a Nutshell, this was an interesting and history filled free agent signing that we might be talking about more than expected during the NBA season. Honestly only Chris Paul’s hamstring and playoff luck knows how it will all turn out!
