Maybe I’m missing something, but apparently everyone around the league, but me (in fact, I’m not even “around the league” like that), seems to think the highest out of James Harden as the best shooting guard in the NBA.
As proven as the unanimous best shooting guard in the NBA might be, he needs to commit on defense. I will NEVER forget James Harden’s 10-minute defensive highlight reel of the 2013-14 season, it is tattooed in my brain. Oh god, the hilarity.
Maybe Harden thinks that, with Dwight Howard anchoring the defense on the paint, there’s no need for a shooting guard as himself to play any defense, eventually Dwight will take care of it all. What do I know.
I believe it is only
when
if he commits on both sides of the floor that he’ll be able to lead the Rockets to an NBA Championship.
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Regardless, if you were to over-analyze the Rockets, as we’re about to, you’ll remember that last season’s roster failed to get past the Western Conference’s first round.
With high hopes of a deep playoff run with a lesser roster, their contention chances rest on a role-player rising to the occasion and turning into the third fiddle of their “Big-Three”.
Coming off an offseason which shook their roster in all the wrong ways, who, out of Patrick Beverley and Trevor Ariza, will it be?
Patrick Beverley
Throughout 2013-14, Jeremy Lin started 33 games for the Rockets and played in 71, Patrick Beverley started 55 games and played in 56. Lin surpassed Beverley in almost every offensive category.
| Rk | Player | Season | MP | FG% | 3P% | 2P% | FT% | AST | TOV | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Patrick Beverley | 2013-14 | 31.3 | .414 | .361 | .473 | .814 | 2.7 | 1.2 | 10.2 |
| 2 | Jeremy Lin | 2013-14 | 28.9 | .446 | .358 | .492 | .823 | 4.1 | 2.5 | 12.5 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 10/24/2014.
Although similar players, assists are kind of important for point guards, and Jeremy Lin nearly doubled Beverley’s per-game assist rate in the past season. Nevertheless, Jeremy Lin took 156 unassisted shots and 136 assisted shots, on the other hand, Patrick Beverley took 89 unassisted and 110 assisted. Which means Lin is more of a shoot-first point-guard whereas Beverley is pass-oriented.
Even though most of the Rockets’ offense goes through Harden, which point-guard would you rather have, a passer or a shooter?
Pelican Debrief
On defense, Beverley turns the Rockets’ backcourt into a competent one. A Tony Allen-like defensive player who, even with his 109 Defensive Rating, is a nightmare to go up against.
In a per-game basis, 10.2 out of the 106.3 points per-game allowed by the Rockets, were scored through Beverley, while 12.5 where scored through Lin.
Jeremy Lin allowed 18.4 percent more points per game than Beverley.
Trevor Ariza
There’s no blame on the Rockets for trying to make up for Chandler Parsons‘ departure. As a 25-year-old forward Parsons had nowhere to go but up. Sadly the Rockets didn’t think he was worth the money and let him go. After that, and missing out on Carmelo Anthony and Chris Bosh, the Rockets went out on a limb and got non-contract-year Trevor Ariza.
Ariza, coming out of a hot season with the Washington Wizards, came to the Rockets via the sign-and-trade of a shiny four-year deal. Great job by Ariza.
In his 10th year in the league, Ariza shot .509/.407/.772 and averaged 14.4 points per-game for the Wizards.
| Rk | Player | Season | Age | MP | FG% | 3P% | 2P% | FT% | TRB | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Trevor Ariza | 2013-14 | 28 | 35.4 | .456 | .407 | .509 | .772 | 6.2 | 14.4 |
| 2 | Chandler Parsons | 2013-14 | 25 | 37.6 | .472 | .370 | .528 | .742 | 5.5 | 16.6 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 10/24/2014.
Parsons beat Ariza in everything other than 3-point shooting, anyway, three-point shooting is the only thing the Rockets want from Ariza. Still, everything’s riding on Ariza replicating last season’s near-career numbers.
The Rockets missed on the pieces they wanted but came out of a messy offseason with the pieces they needed, reinforcing their backcourt and high-powered offense by subtracting Jeremy Lin and adding Trevor Ariza.
Still, it is not Ariza nor Beverley who will eventually make or break the Rockets’ season, it is Harden’s defensive commitment which will.