Houston Rockets' Most Surprising Players of the Early Season

There are two kinds of surprises in life, and the Houston Rockets’ roster represents both in the early part of the 2014-15 season.

The first kind of surprise is when you order a staple menu item from a restaurant you’ve never been to before, and upon the first bite, your taste buds do a happy dance to celebrate an unexpected explosion of deliciousness.

The other type is when you’re eating a bunch of sweet, perfect grapes and then a sour one decides to ruin the party, and those same taste buds suddenly hate you with the passion of a thousand hot and fiery suns.

Houston has players who represent both types. I list them here in order of surprisingness. The criteria is completely subjective.

5. Good Surprise: Tarik Black

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

In the age of one-and-done freshmen getting all the big contracts, there’s something to love about Tarik Black, who has gotten things any way but the easy way. At 6'11", 250 pounds, he has NBA size, but his size is the only immediate thing about him that would indicate a future in the  NBA. 

Black is as unorthodox a player as there is. He finished his degree in three years at Memphis, then transferred to Kansas so he could get his Master’s Degree. I’m not sure how many in the Association have accomplished that.

According to Jesse Newell of The Topeka Capital-Journal, he plays trumpet. He didn’t participate in organized basketball until he was 15.

Also, Newell explains, in contrast to so many me-first players, Black aspires to run a non-profit organization:

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In high school, Tarik was inspired after watching Magic Johnson speak during an award presentation in Memphis, as the NBA Hall of Famer talked about how he was put on earth not to play basketball, but instead to help others. If all goes well, Tarik will one day return to Memphis to start his own non-profit organization.

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Black was undrafted. The Rockets first-round pick was Clint Capela, a center. But Black signed to the summer league team, which he turned into an unguaranteed deal in the preseason. Then, he impressed the Rockets enough to land a regular-season gig on the team while Capela got sent down to the Rockets’ D-League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.

The surprise with Black isn’t how he’s played, or even that he’s started for the Rockets twice in Dwight Howard's absence. He hasn’t been brilliant, but he’s been quite competent. The shock is that he’s on the team at all. He’s four-star flavor at a two-star restaurant.

4. Bad Surprise: Troy Daniels

Bill Haber/Associated Press

After his playoff miracle and corresponding contract, many expected that Troy Daniels would be a more featured part of the team this year.

That, however, has not happened. The 6’4”, 200-pound guard has played just 58 minutes for the season, and the majority of those have come in garbage time. According to Basketball-Reference.com, in the Rockets’ last four games (from Nov. 14 to Nov. 19), he has two “Did not Plays” listed, and both were coach’s decisions.

The one game he had significant run in came when the Memphis Grizzlies (Nov. 17) were blowing out the Rockets, and he got 12 minutes.

And he hasn’t given coach Kevin McHale much reason to put him in. His 2.3 player efficiency rating is hardly inspiring. And he’s hit on just 7 of 26 three-point attempts. For a man who is there to be a three-point specialist, that’s not going to get him a ton of playing time.

Daniels is leaving a bad aftertaste that won’t go away.

3. Good Surprise: Kostas Papanikolaou

Rick Bowmer/Associated Press

When the season started, Kostas Papanikolaou was a very long way from being a Rookie of the Year candidate.

He came over from Europe, where the 6’7” forward played for Olympiacos, Olympiacos Piraeus and FC Barcelona and has been a pro basketball player since 2009-10. That experience is paying dividends.

He's tied for fourth in win shares, he is also fifth in points (73), second in assists (35), third in rebounds (52) and fourth in minutes (291) among rookies. Additionally he is second in assists on the Rockets. While that kind of production hasn’t made him a favorite for the Rookie of the Year, it has put him in the conversation.

Sam Vecenie of CBS Sports.com has him 10th in his most recent rookie ratings, arguing:

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He's playing a lot of minutes for the Rockets off the bench because he's a floor spacing threat as well as a heady offensive player. But his production has been coming in spurts, such as his 14-point outburst last Wednesday against Minnesota or his 8/7/5 game against Miami two Tuesdays ago. Still though, I'm impressed that he's holding down a rotation spot on a 9-1 Rockets' team that is playing as well as any team in the NBA.

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His emergence as one of the league’s best rookies is as sweet as grapes dipped in Greek yogurt.

2. Bad Surprise: James Harden

Brandon Dill/Associated Press

James Harden’s defense has improved, and that is a pleasant surprise. I wrote about that here.

There is a sour-grape revelation of the worst kind that has accompanied that, though. Harden’s scoring has been woeful this year compared to previous seasons.

He is shooting 38.6 percent, down from 45.6 percent last year. His three-point percentage has fallen from 36.6 percent to 28.9 percent. His true shooting percentage dropped from 61.8 percent to 55.9. In short, his scoring efficiency has gone from a strength to a weakness.

This is all the more troubling because the 6'5", 220-pound shooting guard is actually taking more shots than he did last season and turning the ball over a career-high 4.2 times per game.

That said, his player efficiency rating (22.8) is close to last year’s (23.5). His assists (6.9), rebounds (6.3) and blocks (1.5) are actually all at career highs. And surprisingly, his win shares per 48 minutes (.240) is as well. So it’s not like Harden is a disaster, just his scoring is.

But the Rockets are deficient in scoring. Per NBA.com/Stats, the team has plunged to 22nd in the league in offensive rating, and it needs Harden to get his efficiency back up if it's going to raise that.  

1. Good Surprise: Trevor Ariza

Pat Sullivan/Associated Press

When Trevor Ariza was acquired, I expected the Rockets to improve on defense. I even wrote about how they’d be in the top 10:

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However, the problem with the lack of bench defense is still unresolved, and without that solution the Rockets may have taken two steps forward and one step back. Still, finding a player who can help there is a much smaller dilemma than acquiring an elite wing stopper. And considering the Rockets didn't have that far to go anyway, they should be a top-10 defense.

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That prediction seems pretty short-sighted now. The 6'8" small forward has helped turn the Rockets into the No. 1 defense in the league. And it’s real improvement too, not just the mirage of weaker competition. Even adjusting for strength of schedule, they’re ranked third, and that’s with Dwight Howard missing two games and All-Defensive Team guard Patrick Beverley missing six more.

Someone’s been holding that defense together, and it’s pretty obvious who. The fact that the Rockets' defensive rating is 92.5 with Ariza on the court and 100.8 while he sits makes it easy to demonstrate that he has more than a little do with that success.

When you’re expecting deliciousness and you’re still shocked by the degree of taste-bud induced euphoria, that’s the best kind of surprise.