Sam Dekker is the key to Houston Rockets’ 2017-18 season

In order for the Houston Rockets to get to the next level, Sam Dekker is the key to unlocking it.

Sam Dekker, the 18th pick of the 2015 NBA Draft, has had a very turbulent first two years with the Houston Rockets.

Dekker’s rookie season didn’t go nearly as planned. He suffered a back injury shortly after he was drafted, which forced him to miss the NBA Summer League. That injury carried over into the season and eventually forced him to have surgery in November of 2015. Due to that recurring injury, Dekker only appeared in three games in his rookie season, in which he averaged two minutes and didn’t record a single point.

Flash forward to his second year and Dekker made incredible strides in his game. He appeared in 77 games, averaging 6.5 points in 18.4 minutes per game.

His sophomore campaign appeared to be a success until Dekker hit another bump in the road late in the season. According to Mark Berman, Dekker fractured his hand and eventually underwent surgery.

Because of the hand injury, Dekker ended up only playing in four games during the Rockets’ playoff run. However, his role was much more limited as he only averaged 7.8 minutes per game and wasn’t able to have nearly the same impact as in the regular season.

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It might be an overstatement to say that Dekker was an important piece to the rotation, but he was a rotational piece nonetheless.

He will never be the star who carries a team, but that doesn’t mean he can’t be a big contributor. He has flashed the potential to be a mismatch at either of the forward spots.

At small forward, Dekker has sneaky athleticism and is able to stay in front of most other forwards. He is also an average rebounder at that position and can more than hold his own on the glass as well.

On offense, Dekker showed the ability to knock down some threes as he hit 32.1 percent of his outside shots last season. He was most lethal in the corners, where he shot 39.4 percent.

Small forward is only a modest portion of where Dekker receives his minutes for the Rockets. According to Basketball-Reference, Dekker only played 13 percent of his minutes at the small forward position last season.

Most of his minutes came at the power forward spot, which is where Dekker can create the biggest matchup problem.

At 6-foot-9 and 230 pounds, Dekker has the size and strength to battle with most power forwards. He occasionally will struggle on the defensive end when matched up with bigger and stronger forwards, but he gives enough effort to combat some of that lack of size.

The most significant advantage Sam Dekker creates for the Houston Rockets is on the offensive end of the floor. He is at his best when he has the ball in his hands and can use his quickness and ball-handling ability to take his man off the dribble.

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His respectable outside shot also forces opponents to stay somewhat close to Dekker as he toes the three-point line. I expect Dekker to continue to make improvements in his shot as his role with Houston is clearly defined.

As of now, Dekker is the primary backup for Ryan Anderson and Trevor Ariza. Anderson is clearly the better outside shooter as he is one of the best shooting bigs in the entire NBA. However, Anderson is a glaring weakness on the defensive end of the floor for the Rockets and struggles mightily trying to defend most players.

Ariza is also probably a better shooter than Dekker and is a superior defender as well. Unfortunately, Ariza will be 32 before next season starts and is on the downswing of his career.

Dekker will have another summer where he is fully healthy and will be able to continue to work on his game. He is more athletic than both of those veterans and should be able to build off his impressive performance last season.

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If Sam Dekker can take the next step in his career, he will give the Houston Rockets and James Harden yet another offensive weapon to work with.