Progress Reports for Houston Rockets' Newcomers
After an eventful summer of NBA transactions, the Rockets have quite a few newcomers in their rotation this season. With the likes of Chandler Parsons, Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik on new teams, general manager Daryl Morey had a lot of spots to fill heading into this year.
The big signing, of course, was Trevor Ariza. After a career year in Washington with the Wizards, the 6'8" veteran has returned to Houston to fill Parsons' shoes at starting small forward. So far, he's off to a solid start.
The Rockets also traded to bring in Jason Terry. The Jet has done a great job of coming off the bench, hitting big shots and pushing the tempo.
For the first time in a while, Houston actually has some rookies with big roles early on in a season. Kostas Papanikolaou has impressed ever since deciding to come from overseas. He is transitioning into the NBA nicely. Tarik Black, an undrafted rook, won the job for Dwight Howard's backup at center. The two draft picks, Nick Johnson and Clint Capela, have also seen some time as well.
There are a lot of new faces suiting up for the Rockets this year. Some are rookies, some are vets, but many of them have had significant impacts in the early going this season. Here's a closer look at each newcomer and how he has performed thus far.
All stats are from ESPN.com and are accurate as of 11/21/14.
Trevor Ariza
1 of 5
Points: 14.5
Rebounds: 5.8
Assist: 2.
There was a lot of pressure on Trevor Ariza upon his return to Clutch City. The 29-year-old forward is coming off an excellent season in the nation's capital but now has the tough task of replacing a fan favorite in Chandler Parsons.
Ariza and Parsons are quite different, both in their style of play and their mindset. Parsons is an incredible playmaker and emerging star in this league, but Ariza is an established veteran with championship experience. After watching a small sample size of Ariza in this Rockets' lineup, it's now clearer than ever that Ariza's role is the better fit.
Since acquiring Ariza, the Rockets have somehow morphed into a defensive powerhouse. When defense was the team's biggest issue last season, Houston has taken the league by storm with the best defensive efficiency in the NBA, and third fewest opponent points per game.
With Dwight manning the paint and Patrick Beverley wreaking havoc up top, Ariza and a re-focused James Harden on the perimeter have boosted the Rockets' defense to the top. The offense isn't the high-powered catalyst it has been the past couple of years, but this significant defensive improvement will be pivotal for Houston down the road once the postseason comes around.
While his defense is clearly his best attribute, Ariza also started off the season scalding from three-point range. In the team's first five games, a 5-0 start, Ariza shot 60 percent from deep. Since then, he has cooled off considerably, including a few miserable games in that category. Still, he's just a tad under 40 percent, which would have been the best on the Rockets' squad last year.
The biggest knock on Ariza is his playmaking ability. Unlike Parsons, Ariza is not great at creating his own offense. He'll have a nice drive to the cup every now and then, but he generally cannot facilitate all that well.
Ariza has emerged as the third scoring option at 14.5 points per game, only behind Harden (23.8) and Howard (18.8) as expected. However, there have been a small handful of games where he's struggled to contribute on that end of the floor.
Daryl Morey and Houston like to focus on efficiency. Their shots are all at the rim or beyond the arc. Ariza's three-and-D style of play has helped the Rockets earn the highest defensive efficiency and the most three-pointers made in the NBA. If only he could be a bit more consistent with his shot and better create for himself on offense, he would be the perfect signing.
Grade: A-
Jason Terry
2 of 5
Points: 7.4
Rebounds: 0.9
Assists: 1.2
Houston fans should be used to Jason Terry lighting it up in the Toyota Center, but it's nice that nowadays he's actually doing it for the home team.
For those who weren't sure if Terry had anything left in the tank, they're sure now. The Rockets acquired the slinger in a trade with Sacramento this summer. Terry is always one of the first off the bench, and his uptempo play and sweet shooting stroke have been a nice addition to the rotation.
At 46 percent, the Jet is averaging a couple of threes per contest. His energy off the bench has been the key to some big runs throughout the year. When the Rockets need a big shot, Kevin McHale will not hesitate to call his name.
It will be interesting to see if Terry can sustain this fast-paced style of play for 82 games. The Jet's in his 16th season at 37 years old. He's also coming off a serious leg injury last season, so hopefully he can stay fresh as the season progresses. To start the year, however, Terry has hit the ground running.
Grade: B+
Kostas Papanikolaou
3 of 5
Points: 6.1
Rebounds: 4.3
Assists: 2.9
Realizing he needed more depth on the roster, Morey was able to convince Papanikolaou to leave Europe and join the Rockets. In his short time in the NBA, there have been some growing pains here and there but overall Big Papa has done a nice job transitioning to the game.
At 6'8", Papanikolaou is a great facilitator for his size. The 24-year-old forward can drive to the basket, finish at the rim or find the open man underneath the rim. His unique passing ability is a great asset, especially at his position coming off the bench.
On the year, K-Pap is shooting just 32.7 percent from deep, but he's been streaky all season. He'll have games where he can't make a thing, and he'll have games where he just can't miss. Hopefully, as the year continues, he'll get comfortable from that range and knock it down consistently.
Drafted all the way back in 2012, Big Papa isn't one of the headliner freshmen in a very strong class, yet his good early-season performances has him as a dark-horse rookie of the year contender. It's a long-shot, but you can't rule it out just yet.
Grade: B
Tarik Black
4 of 5
Points: 3.4
Rebounds: 4.6
Assists: 0.2
When Morey signed Black as an undrafted free agent, no one thought much of it. However, after a stellar preseason performance, the 6'11" rookie has earned himself a spot in the rotation backing up Dwight. With Howard already missing a couple of games, Black has even gotten a couple of starts to add to his young NBA resume.
The big man has a very specific job when he gets into games: rebound the basketball. Black averages 4.6 boards a game in just 16.1 minutes. His ability to clean the glass and do the dirty work in the paint will keep him in the league for years to come.
Unfortunately, there aren't many other dimensions to Black's game besides crashing the boards. He's not much of a scoring threat, which disrupts the rhythm of the Rockets' offense once Dwight leaves the floor. For some odd reason, the ball found him in the post on two crucial possessions in the fourth quarter in an embarrassing home loss to the LA Lakers.
There's still a lot of work to do for Black to improve his game as his career continues, but after going undrafted, he has to be pleased with where he's at right now, and so do Rockets fans.
Grade: C+
Nick Johnson and Clint Capela
5 of 5
The Rockets' only two draft picks this season got to experience the NBA before heading down to Rio Grande Valley. Both Johnson and Capela got to play in some garbage time before starting their journeys in the D-League.
Clint Capela
Capela, the 25th overall pick, played just six minutes in a blowout win over the San Antonio Spurs. He hauled in three rebounds but didn't get off an official shot attempt without getting fouled. He went 0-of-4 at the charity stripe.
Capela was drafted as a work in progress. He is a long-term project with great length and athleticism that give him potential. He will get to develop his all-around game in the D-League with the Vipers. The minutes and game experience down in the Valley will help this guy improve on his currently raw skills.
Grade: Incomplete
Nick Johnson
Johnson, the 42nd overall pick, may have been a steal. The 6'3" guard is a bit undersized, but he has a great motor and is a freakish athlete. He can defend wings well, and he has the athleticism and finishing ability to be a good scoring guard at this level.
Johnson had a strong summer league performance in Orlando and Las Vegas. He averaged over 12 points a game and ended up on the highlight reel a few times as well.
In three games this season, Johnson is averaging just 0.7 points in 3.7 minutes. Clearly, his NBA opportunity is still down the road, and like Capela, his time in the D-League will be very valuable for his development. Until he finds his way back in the big leagues, we'll just have to wait to see if Johnson can become a serviceable NBA player. I like his chances.
Grade: Incomplete
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