Houston Rockets: 2015-16 Season Outlook

Three Key Storylines (cont.)

2. Will The Rockets Miss Josh Smith?

Look, we’ve all heard the jokes about Josh Smith jacking up threes like some sort of long range Bob the Builder. As a master bricklayer from downtown, that’s unlikely to change at this stage of his career (or stop being funny).

But nobody was laughing in the playoffs last year — or at any point during Smoove’s tenure with the Rockets, for that matter — when he was throwing alley-oop lob after alley-oop lob to Dwight Howard in the paint. (Did you hear they were former AAU teammates? The broadcast only mentioned it about 347 times during the playoffs.)

Josh Smith not only reminded everyone of his two-way value on the right team, but he even drilled a couple of threes for good measure, almost as if he were flipping a giant middle finger to the world. Since the Rockets’ system called for Smith to shoot open threes, he was able to launch them guilt-free and shoot a career high 33.3 percent from downtown.

That’s not particularly efficient, but losing the kind of bench production Smoove supplied in the playoffs is a blow to the Rockets, even with a number of capable replacements on hand.

Replacing Smith begins with starting power forward Terrence Jones staying healthy. Heading into the 2014-15 season, Jones was expected to make the leap and possibly even become the third member of a new Big Three for Houston. Instead, he only suited up for 33 games and was unable to take the next step as the stretch-4 the Rockets need, despite shooting a respectable 35.1 percent from downtown.

Then there’s Donatas Motiejunas, who proved himself by filling in for Dwight Howard as a stretch-5 last year. In addition to shooting 36.8 percent from three-point range, D-Mo displayed some pretty deft post moves and could be heading for a breakout season as Smith’s replacement at the 4 off the bench.

As far as Houston’s rookies are concerned, it’s unlikely Montrezl Harrell or Sam Dekker have an impact in their first seasons in the league. But Dekker might be versatile enough to become a stretch-4 in limited minutes and Harrell is a powerhouse in the paint despite being a tad undersized.

The Rockets’ depth took a blow in the Lawson trade and with the departure of Josh Smith, but if Jones and D-Mo can take the next step, Houston should be able to make up for it in the short-term and the long-term.

Next: Storyline: How Much Longer Will Dwight Howard's Prime Last?