Daryl Morey Says Rockets Have Better Chance at NBA Title with Small-Ball Lineup

The Houston Rockets surprised many by trading Clint Capela in a four-team deal that landed Robert Covington, but general manager Daryl Morey believes the move improved the roster. 

"Pretty straight forward," Morey explained Thursday, per Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. "The best way to play with our stars that we feel is the one that gives us the best chance to win the championship is with a stretch 4, playing uptempo, shooting and wing defenders.

"Robert Covington was for sure the best one available."

The Rockets also received Jordan Bell in the deal but reportedly flipped him for Bruno Caboclo in a trade that involved a swap of second-round picks, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Capela has been one of the NBA's top post defenders, averaging 13.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game, but he was a rarity on the Rockets as the only main rotation player who didn't shoot threes.

Spacing is vital in this offense, especially with James Harden and Russell Westbrook looking for open lanes.

The Rockets have had a lot of success without Capela on the court this year, going 10-1 when he was unavailable. In Tuesday's win over the Charlotte Hornets, the squad went extremely small with 6'6" Danuel House Jr. and 6'5" P.J. Tucker being the biggest players in the starting lineup.

Center Isaiah Hartenstein could get some minutes, and Tyson Chandler is still on the roster, but the team appears content with going small.

Meanwhile, adding Covington provides the Rockets with another frontcourt option who can defend the perimeter and knock down threes (34.6 percent on the season). Houston believes this addition will be key in helping compete with the top teams in the West.

"He's very good off the ball, knowing how to position himself, anticipates, gets steals, denies passing lanes," Morey said of Covington. "On the ball, he's a guy who can honestly take the ball from someone Kawhi (Leonard) like. He's somebody who really fits how coach (Mike) D'Antoni wants to play."

After seven straight playoff appearances without an NBA Finals trip, the Rockets are trying a new approach going into the 2020 postseason.