Hidden Blessings to Houston Rockets' Early Injury Problems

The Houston Rockets have had an insane number of injuries to deal with through the first quarter of the season. And in many ways, those wounds have turned out to be blessings in disguise.

The tally is ridiculous. Trevor Ariza, James Harden, Donatas Motiejunas and Jason Terry are the only Rockets to have played in all 20 of Houston’s games. They’ve had their starting five together for just two contests (and won both).

The hits have come hardest to the starters. Terrence Jones (peroneal nerve contusion) has played in only four games. Patrick Beverley (knee) has missed eight. Dwight Howard (strained right knee) has been out half the season. They’ve played six times without any of the three.

And the injuries don’t end with the starters. Backup point guard Isaiah Canaan (sprained left ankle) has missed the last three games. Now, per Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, Kostas Papanikolaou (strained right knee) is out 10-15 days with a strained right knee.

But they’re finding ways to win in spite of the plethora of DNPs. They aren’t making excuses because they aren’t in need of them. Their 16-4 record is second-best in the league.

And therein lie the blessings. In finding ways to win, they’ve learned just how good they can be.

The blessings are listed here in order of how much they will mean to Houston as the team regains its health and approaches the postseason.

Stats for this article were obtained from Basketball-Reference.com, NBA.com/Stats and 82games.com. 

5. The Resurgence of Jason Terry

Eric Christian Smith/Associated Press

When Jason Terry came to Houston, it seemed as though his career was all but over. His resurgence has been crucial in keeping the Rockets going, though. In fact, he’s already scored more points this year than he did in all of last season.

He’s also shooting a career-high 42.6 percent from deep. For a 37-year-old man, career highs in anything are impressive.

He has been particularly effective in the last four games.

With both Beverley and Canaan out, Terry has returned to the quarterbacking days of his youth, starting at point guard. In those games, per Basketball-Reference.com, he’s averaging 16.5 points, 4.5 assists and 3.8 rebounds in 36.9 minutes. He’s also shooting 48 percent from the field and 50 percent from deep on 6.5 attempts.

One of the Rockets’ big question marks has been where the assists will come from when Harden sits. Terry’s rediscovering of his point guard abilities is providing the answer to that. He can effectively be to Canaan what Harden is to Beverly: an off-guard who runs the offense.

4. The Growth of the Rookies

Pat Sullivan/Associated Press

With so many injuries, the Rockets’ rooks are getting playing time and proving themselves while learning on the job.

Per Basketball-Reference, Tarik Black, undrafted out of Kansas, is third in win shares among rookies. His 103 total rebounds are third-most. He’s not scoring a lot, but he’s hitting on 54.3 percent of his shots.

Also among rookies, Papanikolaou is fourth in win shares with 0.8. He’s top-10 in all five major statistical categories: fifth in rebounds (81), second in assists (57), seventh in steals (17), fourth in blocks (10) and 10th in points (126).

And with all that, the Rockets’ two draft picks from this season have yet to see much time. Clint Capela and Nick Johnson have both been recently recalled from the Rockets’ D-League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. So now there’s even more room for growth.

The rookies’ development has been a major factor in the Rockets churning out wins. When the starters get healthy and come back, the rooks will have gained valuable playing time and experience in situations they normally wouldn’t have been in.

Learning to win is about more than talent, and the Houston freshmen passed that introductory class with flying colors. As a result, the Rockets will be a better team when they need to rely on their first-year players again.

3. The Development of Motiejunas in the Post

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Not too long ago, the Rockets were seeing their offense sputter and were in dire need of another player who could score in the post. Even with Howard playing, opponents were shutting down the restricted area and making the Rockets beat them from deep. The shooting went cold, and the offense disappeared.

Over the four-game span from Nov. 14-19, they were shooting just 46.7 percent from two and 26.2 percent from three. As a result, they were scoring just 85.5 points per game. And it was in the course of that slate that Howard had his knee procedure, missing the Nov. 19 game against the Los Angeles Lakers.

That’s when Motiejunas stepped up his post game, beginning with the win over the Dallas Mavericks on Nov. 22. Since then, he’s averaging 14.8 points on 59.3 percent shooting.

Per NBA.com/Stats, last season, 46.9 percent of his field goals came inside the restricted area, and those came at a 54.5 percent clip. This year, 50.6 percent of his makes are from there, and he’s making them at rate of 58.7 percent.

He’s scoring there in a variety of ways. He’s 23-for-38 on layups, 14-for-21 on hook shots, 5-for-9 on turnaround-hook shots, 5-for-5 on bank-hook shots, 3-for-3 on reverse layups and 2-for-3 on dunks. None of that means he’s the next elite scorer at the rim, but it’s been enough to help the Rockets resuscitate their offense.

Since D-Mo elevated his performance, the Rockets are 49.0 percent from two, 35.5 percent from three and averaging 101.1 points per game. His scoring in the post is taking enough pressure off the shooters to get the offense working again.

2. Harden’s Emergence as a Leader on Defense

Pat Sullivan/Associated Press

Harden has become one of the defensive leaders of the Houston Rockets.

Go ahead, mock. Scorn. Guffaw even! But anyone who is watching the Rockets with regularity isn’t going to deny that it’s true.

Here are the facts:

• Harden leads the NBA in defensive win shares with 1.5.
• His Defensive Box Plus-Minus of 2.2 is the best of anyone on the Rockets with 500 minutes.
• His 98 defensive rating (98.0) is the lowest of any Rocket with 500 minutes played.
• Per 82 games.com, his opponents’ player efficiency rating is second-lowest of any Rocket with 500 minutes played.
• Per NBA.com/Stats, his opponents are shooting 4.2 percent lower than their season average while being guarded by Harden, and 9.5 percent worse from three.

Now, all of these numbers are at least partly team-dependent, but I’m not saying he’s one of the best defensive players in the NBA. I’m saying he’s one of the defensive leaders on the Rockets. And clearly, he is.

More than that, he’s doing what the Rockets ask of him, which, per Feigen, has even included guarding power forwards. According to Draft Express, his 6’10.75" wingspan is the same as Cody Zeller’s. That length and his bulk allow him to hold down the block. It’s a big part of how the Rockets have survived the Howard injury.

Harden is not the reason for the Rocket’s rise to defensive prominence, but his renewed commitment to it and willingness to do what is asked of him are certainly contributing factors. That gives both the Rockets and Harden confidence in what they can do going forward.

And without Howard’s injury, they may have never stumbled on this extra strength of his.

1. The Coaching of Kevin McHale

Brandon Dill/Associated Press

All things considered, Kevin McHale has done a remarkable job. In fact, even if you don’t consider all things, McHale has done a remarkable job.

This is a team many viewed as having gotten worse during the offseason. It had a veritable bench overhaul, an offensive star who didn’t have any interest in defense and a meaningless fuss raised over what the stars thought of the role players. Last, and certainly not least, they lost their third-best player, Chandler Parsons.

There were many who believed that the Rockets might not even make the playoffs this season. If you’d said that they’d be 16-4 after their first 20 games, even if completely healthy, many would have scoffed. And they have been anything but hale and hearty.

With Howard out, they’ve won seven of their last eight games, and five of those victories came against teams with winning records (Dallas Mavericks, Sacramento Kings, Milwaukee Bucks, Memphis Grizzlies and Phoenix Suns).

It’s difficult enough to succeed without injuries. It’s understandable to fail because of them. It’s most impressive when you thrive in spite of them. And McHale deserves tremendous credit for that.

The player development, the adjustments to the defense and maintaining the team’s morale all come down to coaching, and McHale has done as good a job as anyone this season.

And here’s the best part: At some point everyone is going to get healthy, and when that happens, McHale will suddenly have a very deep tool chest to use. And as the die maker, he’ll know how to use them.

Likewise, the team has a greater trust in him and in one another, having passed through the storm together. The Rockets’ confidence will get a massive boost from this early success that could power them deep into the postseason.