Houston Rockets: How Aaron Brooks Will Turn This Team into a Contender This Year
After losing their first five games and losing Yao Ming and Aaron Brooks for extended periods of time, the Rockets were quickly written off by analysts across the nation as playoff contenders in the Western Conference. Words like "overrated", "cursed", and "fragile" were all used to describe a team that was expected by many to challenge for home court advantage in the deep Western Conference.
After losing these two core players, the Rockets have rebounded, playing 13-10 basketball against far weaker competition and reminding fans that the team is not as horrible as they had played earlier on.
In fact, many have claimed that the Rockets are better without Aaron Brooks and his shot-happy mentality. While their argument may have merit in that Kyle Lowry may be the better fit as a starter, there is no doubt that Brooks' return will be crucial to Rockets' success this year.
If they are to have any hope of being contenders to do anything in the Western Conference this year, Brooks will have to recover completely and continue playing as well as he did last year.
5. Ability to Create Offense at The End Of Possessions
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One thing that the Rockets have struggled with early in the season that great teams are typically very strong at has been the ability to score as the shot clock is running down. Luis Scola's post moves often take too long, Kyle Lowry has a long release on his shot, and Kevin Martin's game is predicated on patience.
Aaron Brooks, on the other hand, excels as the shot clock winds down because he can hit shots that can bring the crowd to its feet in an instant or silence an opposing stadium. Because he has practiced hitting difficult shots (perhaps because of his poor shot selection), he can make difficult shots in opposing player's faces.
The great teams all have players who have that ability. The Lakers have Kobe Bryant, the Celtics have Paul Pierce, the Heat have LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, the Mavericks have Dirk Nowitzki, and the Spurs have Manu Ginobili. Aaron Brooks is not on par with those players, but he at least gives the Rockets a semblance of quick offense.
4. Improve The Bench
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Coming into the year, the Rockets were extremely proud of the bench they had put together over the past year and a half, labeling it among the best in the league. With former starters Brad Miller, Courtney Lee, Chuck Hayes, and others returning to the bench, the Rockets appeared to have formed a formidable crew on the pine.
However, with a horrible stretch of injuries, the bench has struggled somewhat. Chuck Hayes and Kyle Lowry, two key defensive minded bench players, were forced into starter duties with mixed results. While Lowry and Hayes have performed very well in their new roles, the bench has suffered as a result.
With Brooks returning to the rotation, it is unclear whether he will be starting again when he is back to full strength. Kyle Lowry is simply playing so well that it would be very difficult to pull him from the starting lineup. Either way, adding Brooks or Lowry to the bench will be a huge boost to a second unit that has often depended on Brad Miller to play "point center" and create offense.
Brooks, in particular, appears to be a perfect fit for a bench role. Much like Jason Terry or Jamal Crawford of the Mavericks and Hawks, Brooks could come off the bench in a combo guard role and "fire at will". A tremendous scorer, allowing him to play alongside Lowry or with another playmaker like Terrence Williams or Brad Miller would be a boon for the Rockets.
Either way, the Rockets bench will look a lot better for having Brooks back from injury.
3. Opening Up The Middle For Big Men
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In the first five games of the season with Aaron Brooks at the helm, Luis Scola averaged over 22 points a game and almost three assists. Since then, Scola has continued to play well, but has not been nearly as dominant, merely adding 19.7 points a game with fewer than two assists.
Though a stretch of five games can hardly be described as a large sample size, Brooks' presence on the court appeared to greatly help Scola as he had huge ground to operate inside. Spacing the floor with three dead-eye shooters that could get their shots off quickly in Shane Battier, Kevin Martin, and Brooks, teams were hesitant to double team Scola inside.
While Kyle Lowry has improved his jump shot as of late, his inability to get the shot off quickly because of his slow release has allowed teams to put more pressure on Scola inside. With Brooks outside again, look for Luis Scola to reignite his offense after a relative cold spell for him.
2. Closing Games Out
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When both Aaron Brooks and Kyle Lowry were healthy last year and at the beginning of this year, one of Rick Adelman's greatest luxuries was the ability to allow the point guard playing the best to close out games or play the two together if they were both playing well. With Brooks missing time due to injury, the Rockets were forced to allow Lowry to close out games whether he was playing well or not.
When Brooks is hitting his shots, he is among the league's best scorers from the point guard position. To potentially add that to the Rockets clutch-time lineup will be crucial as the team has often struggled to hit shots at opportune times.
While he struggled mightily earlier on as a closer, towards the end of last year, Brooks appeared to grow greatly as a late game player as he hit a number of crucial shots to win games for the Rockets. He hit a game winning jumper against the Nuggets, led an impressive comeback against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden and hit many other shots that Bill Worrell would dub "cold-blooded".
Is he an elite closer on par with Kobe or Steve Nash yet? No, but he's better than anyone else the Rockets have and his ability to play with Lowry at the end of games will be a huge boost for the Rockets.
1. Trade Chip
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While Aaron Brooks' on-court value is no doubt crucial to the Rockets success this season, perhaps his greatest potential value will be his value in a trade package to acquire a star player or a capable low-post center.
Right now, with Kyle Lowry playing impressive basketball, Brooks can only be so much of an upgrade at the point guard position. Instead, his highest value is in solving the team's two greatest weaknesses—a lack of star power and a lack of a tough inside defensive presence.
Could Brooks alone bring the Rockets one of the stars rumored to be on the move? Clearly not, but as a piece of a package for either Carmelo Anthony (though it appears the Rockets are out of the running for him), Chris Paul, or Andre Iguodala, Brooks could go a long way in acquiring one of these players.
The fact is that at the point guard position, with Kyle Lowry playing well and capable substitutes Ishmael Smith and even Courtney Lee spelling him well, Brooks' greatest value is not on the court so much as in a potential trade.
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