Houston Rockets: Isaiah Canaan Will Be Key

The Houston Rockets may have made a mistake this off season. After going after Chris Bosh at all costs, the Rockets lost the services of Chandler Parsons, Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik in pursuit of that third superstar to put their team over the hump. The logic to go all out on Bosh was sound and General Manager Daryl Morey shouldn’t be blamed for trying to, despite it back firing on him. After all, the NBA is in the midst of it’s “Big Three Era.” Acquiring a third superstar could have brought Houston a championship.

Daryl Morey did what he could, replacing Parsons with Trevor Ariza. Ultimately, Morey decided that the options on the market weren’t appealing enough to spend more money on them. He opted instead to give the younger players a shot. That’s really evident with the Rockets current point guard situation. No other position on the team has the biggest question mark than the point guard position. First, it’s Patrick Beverley‘s health. Because Beverley has proven to be so fragile, the biggest question mark on the team becomes: What can Isaiah Canaan provide off the bench?

With the departure of Lin, the Rocket’s point guard situation looks unappealing. Behind the offensively challenged Beverley, the Rockets have old and fragile Jason Terry. Terry hasn’t been good in at least two seasons. I really doubt Terry will be the primary back up point guard. James Harden doesn’t really have anybody behind him, so expect Terry to slot in there. The Rockets will need to rely on Isaiah Canaan to provide quality minutes off of the bench so that the Beverley doesn’t get over worked, or worse injured.

Relying on younger players is sometimes a good thing. Solid players are discovered and fans get a taste of fresh talent. That doesn’t always make it the right decision, however. This is especially true for a team that’s supposedly in the championship hunt. If it back fires, then the team is in major trouble.

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While basketball is a sport where teams are predominantly reliant on star players, role players are still an important piece of the puzzle. No team can win a championship without having both. The Rockets have one half of this equation down pat, with Dwight Howard and James Harden being arguably the top players of their positions. However, the Rockets role players are lacking.

Isaiah Canaan’s production will depend on how well he has developed over the off season. Rarely used last year, we aren’t exactly sure what he can bring to the team with a heavier workload. The second rounder out of Murray State University has a lot of pressure on his shoulders, more than he realistically should have at this stage of his career. The Rockets’ playoff hopes depend on a functional bench and not running James Harden into the ground. Isaiah Canaan will play a major role in keeping the wheels from falling off.

We’ve already established that the Rockets don’t really have anybody who can create offense outside of Harden and Howard. All things seem to indicate that Isaiah Canaan is not an exception. He didn’t look good offensively in the limited time he got. The good news is that he likely won’t have to do much to help the team out. Isaiah Canaan will need to be able to shoot the three ball and play defense.

Depth is extremely important in today’s NBA. No team can play their star players for 40 minutes a night and expect to be successful. The Rockets are not the exception to the rule. The team has to focus on keeping it’s key contributors healthy. Isaiah Canaan and the rest of the bench will help determine how far Houston can realistically go.

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