As the Rockets got off to a rough start, a big issue plaguing the team was a lack of depth, especially on the wing. With Trevor Ariza and Luc Mbah a Moute departing in the offseason and Carmelo Anthony deemed too much of a negative to be part of the rotation, the Rockets were left with James Ennis and not much else.
That is where the emergence of Danuel House comes into play. As Jonathan Feigen writes for The Houston Chronicle, House has stepped up in recent games and provided a much-needed lift for the Rockets. House insists he is focused on hitting shots, playing solid defense and providing energy off the bench, especially as Ennis recently went down with an injury and Eric Gordon has been inserted into the starting lineup.
The Rockets have started to turn things around in recent games, with House providing an unexpected jolt off the bench just when the team needed one.
There’s more from the Rockets:
- The Rockets have surely missed Ariza’s presence and leadership, which Tania Ganguli details for The Los Angeles Times. Gerald Green and P.J. Tucker are quoted on the value that Ariza can bring to a locker room, especially on the Rockets team that had high aspirations last season.
- A brief but flashy storyline in the offseason was the potential that LeBron James would join his friend Chris Paul and defending MVP James Harden in Houston to form a new super team. Of course, that never happened and Dave McMenamin of ESPN reveals (via Twitter) that James didn’t give much thought to actually joining the Rockets.
- The Rockets recently emerged as a potential suitor for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, the 25-year-old shooting guard from the Lakers. Caldwell-Pope can provide defense and 3-point shooting, which the Rockets could use more of moving forward.
The Rockets didn’t give much thought to LeBron either when they were kicking his butt in the last game.
Rockets may have outsmarted themselves with Clark and House. Flipped them, with Clark getting the real contract and House the 2wc. PT has reversed since they did it.
Clark shoots one 2pt shot per 100 possesions!– with few FTs resulting. I don’t get that, given that he’s not good at 3s and had no problem with traffic in college.
House at least gets to the line. The
Rockets’ wing problem is amazing for a would-be title contender.
I guess desperate people (and GMs) will strain their eyes to what they want. Clark was basically a defender (truly elite at the college level), but a pedestrian shooter from all distances. Maybe he hit a few 3’s early on with the Rockets while on his 2wc, and the team saw it and converted him. But, to get the roster spot, they cut House (2 yr ng standard contract), and then resigned him to a 2wc. Now House seems to have Clark’s prior backup PF spot in the rotation player. No biggie, it’s all min wage right now, and they should try and develop 3 and D guys with this system. But, yeah, the off season plan could not have been to rely on these guys.
“stars don’t wanto play with lebron” durant, kyrie, etc