How Much Does Jason Terry Have Left in the Tank for Houston Rockets This Season

Jason Terry has answered one question in the Houston Rockets’ first two games of the season, although, it might not be the answer that fans are hoping for: He’s the primary man off the bench, whether he’s still capable of filling that role or not.

Through his first two games as a Rocket, Terry is averaging just 8.0 points in 21.5 minutes, and he doesn’t look like the former Sixth Man of the Year.

There is the possibility that Terry rediscovers his former glory, but he’s not a young man, and that’s a major cause for concern. Does the Rocket nicknamed JET have enough left in the tank for the Houston Rockets? After all, he can barely even take off.

Look at the lift he gets on this blocked shot. His feet barely leave the ground.

Furthermore, without his burst, he’s more “tarry” than Terry. He is no longer the type of player who can get his own offense. In fact, per NBA.com/STATS, all of his points so far this season have been assisted.

And that’s a concern. He missed half of last season with a knee injury, playing just 570 minutes. Then, early in the preseason, he pulled a hamstring and missed a large part of that.

So, when looking at Terry, it’s hard to separate what is rust, what is age and what is injury. What we do know is that he’s not looking as athletic as he used to.

A pair of other players, Kobe Bryant and Derrick Rose, missed large portions of the 2013-14 season. While they are immensely more talented than Terry, they offer an interesting scale on which to evaluate Terry.

Matt York/Associated Press

In Bryant, you have one of the most skilled offensive players in history. His vertical is about the same as your average elephant’s at this point, but he’s still doing an extraordinary job of creating shots for himself. Per NBA.com/STATS, through his first two games, 64.7 percent of Bryant’s field goals have been unassisted.

Bryant (36) is similar in age to Terry (37). But Terry has never developed the skill set that Bryant has. 

Then there’s Derrick Rose, one of the most athletic, explosive players in the history of the league. After coming back from two years of knee injuries, the 26-year-old point guard appears to still have his explosiveness. He's attempted only seven shots, but he’s shown all preseason and in his first regular-season game that he still has the ability to create.

The much younger Rose is more predisposed to recover his athleticism. Bryant is in less need of it. 

But what about Terry? He has neither the skill set of Bryant nor the explosiveness of Rose. He’s made a career by having just enough of a combination of the two. Losing some of both due to rust and age means it’s not likely that he’s able to get back to the same level of play.

His scouting report on ESPN.com (Insider) says:

"

Minus Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik, the Rockets' bench was looking awfully young, so late in the offseason GM Daryl Morey sent Alonzo Gee and other considerations to Sacramento for Jason Terry. Terry has long been one of the NBA's great bench scorers and was the 2008-09 Sixth Man of the Year. That was a long time ago, however, and last season for the Nets and Kings, Terry looked very much like a guy with 15 NBA seasons under his belt. Terry can still stroke it from deep, but his usage rate has fallen by 9 percent in two seasons, and last season he made just 33 percent of his shots inside the arc. He's not a defensive factor, but maybe Terry has one more run left in him for a contender. Or, with just one year left on his contract, he's at the finish line. Either way, it's been a great career for JET.

"

So, that’s pretty unsettling. His ability to create is deteriorating, and he’s basically becoming a jump-shooter who can only hit threes. While that’s nice, it’s not needed. The Rockets have a better catch-and-shoot three-point specialist, Troy Daniels, sitting while Terry plays.

Bill Haber/Associated Press

Terry no longer has the ability to be a Sixth Man of the Year candidate, taking over the scoring in clutch minutes or generating offense when the team is struggling. He does have a role on the team, though. Jeff Clark of CelticsBlog.com told NetsDaily.com last year when Terry was traded from the Boston Celtics to the Brooklyn Nets:

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Another thing I can say about Terry is that he's a real fun guy and a positive presence in the locker room. In fact, before he was traded away (and after Doc left) the Celtics had tabbed him to be an assistant coach for the team's summer league. He's talked about as a future coach himself (shoot, maybe he'll join Kidd's staff in a few years). Like Crash, he has a habit of holding himself (harshly) accountable for losses. But he's always got a smile on his face and positive words of encouragement for his teammates.

"

Donatas Motiejunas is the most experienced bench player after Terry, and he has just 1,515 minutes played. In fact, the entire portion of the bench which has seen playing time has only 2,000 minutes played in their collective careers.

Donatas Motiejunas is in his third year. Daniels and Isaiah Canaan are in their second. Kostas Papanikolaou and Tarik Black are just rookies. And that’s all head coach Kevin McHale has played off the bench.

So the issue is that the Rockets second unit is either too old (Terry) or too young (everyone else). And that means Terry’s job is to carry the kids to the point where they can take over.

Terry temporarily serves a purpose as the first man off the bench. He can be a bridge to both Canaan and/or Daniels as a backcourt teammate to them and help them learn on the job. Gradually, his time should diminish as they become more accomplished. 

He can also help in the locker room as he helps them adjust to NBA life, success and failure. 

Maybe he’s not JET anymore, but he is one of those old, beat up Cessna’s you see in the movies. It’s the kind with the smoke coughing out of the back and with the dials you have to smack to get them to work, but it still flies. It does just enough to get the good guys wherever they’re going and through whatever storm they’re passing through.

And we know how those scenes end. There’s always just barely enough gas left in the tank to get them where they’re going.