Houston Rockets: An appreciation of Ryan Anderson

Ryan Anderson has been included in countless trade rumors this offseason, leading many to not appreciate his true value to the Houston Rockets.

Ryan Anderson is the perfect fit at power forward for the Houston Rockets. His ability to space the floor around James Harden (and now Chris Paul) will be as crucial as ever this season. Yet many Rockets fans wanted to see Anderson in a different uniform by opening night. Granted, most of those fans were clamoring for Carmelo Anthony to join the team, but that ship has sailed.

With that being said, fans have lost sight of Anderson’s value to this Rockets team. There’s a reason why Houston had been trying numerous times to acquire him before signing him in free agency last summer. Many fans criticized the move at the time, mainly because of Anderson’s defensive struggles and injury history. However, Anderson stayed healthy for most of last season and was a huge part of the Rockets’ second-ranked offense.

Now, before we get to Anderson’s bread and butter, we must address his poor defense. Anderson will never be an above-average defender. Heck, he’ll never be an average defender either. He is too slow-moving laterally, lacks the athleticism to contest shots at the rim, and is a poor defensive rebounder. Last season he posted a -2.6 defensive box plus-minus, which was his highest mark since the 2011-12 season. However, his -0.12 Defensive Real Plus-Minus isn’t terrible, and there are stretches where Anderson gives solid effort on that end of the floor.

You know what you’re getting from Anderson on a nightly basis, and defense isn’t it. What you’re expecting is elite 3-point shooting and floor-spacing. And Anderson certainly delivered the goods last season.

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Anderson shot 40.3 percent from beyond the arc last season, and finished ninth in the league in 3-pointers made. When you’re taking seven 3-pointers per game, that 40.3 percent becomes even more valuable. Anderson was even more of a sniper on corner 3-pointers, hitting 54.2 percent of such shots last season. Mike D’Antoni should find a way for him to get more looks in the corner, as those shots only made up 14.2 percent of his total attempts from beyond the arc.

Anderson’s ability to shoot from upwards of 26 and 27 feet from the rim allow him to space the floor even more than normal sharpshooters. Defenders simply aren’t used to guarding that far behind the 3-point line, allowing Anderson to get off quick shots.

In the play below, Anderson just stands several feet behind the line and waits for a routine pass from James Harden. Since Nerlens Noel isn’t used to guarding that far out, Anderson gets a quality look and splashes it home:

Anderson’s quick release and comfort shooting from deep allows him to get shots off of tough passes, such as this one from Harden:

Again, it’s hard to overstate how valuable Anderson’s ability to shoot several feet behind the line can be. Here he is able to get a decent look several feet behind the line as JaMychal Green chases him in a pick-and-pop:

Also, Anderson’s quick release and deadly shooting can punish defenders not paying close enough attention. In the clip below, Jabari Parker takes a step towards the lane to defend a potential Harden-Nene pick-and-roll, and as soon as Harden recognizes this, he shoots over a pass to Anderson, who drains the three:

That’s another aspect of Anderson’s value to the Rockets. He has developed incredible chemistry with Harden in the pick-and-pop game, leading to unique passes from Harden, often times behind-the-back as Anderson slips the screen:

There are also times where the other big will set another screen for Anderson to give him even more space or create confusion for the defense.

Those are just a few examples pulled from a nearly nine-minute video full of Anderson’s deepest and most contested threes. The video is worth your time, I can promise you that.

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Anderson’s shooting will be a necessity for Houston this season, especially as the team added relatively poor/inconsistent shooters in P.J. Tucker and Luc Mbah a Moute. Rockets fans are hoping that Anderson shoots better at home this season, as he shot a shockingly low 33.2 percent in the Toyota Center (compared to 46.7 percent on the road).

Of course, Anderson must continue to shoot well in the playoffs, something he certainly failed to do in the 2017 postseason. He shot a ghastly 28.3 percent beyond the arc in the two series, limiting his value. However, if Anderson becomes a more consistent shooter, his value as an off-ball sharpshooter can’t be overstated. With one of Chris Paul and James Harden having the ball in their hands at nearly all times, having players such as Anderson (and Eric Gordon) that can simply spot-up, space the floor and knock down threes is important.

While Anthony could have contributed to the Rockets in ways Anderson can’t (ball-handling, creating quality looks, etc.), Anderson’s familiarity in his role and with James Harden is crucial to the Rockets success.

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In the end, the trade isn’t happening. However, Rockets fans shouldn’t continue to bash Anderson, but rather appreciate his floor-spacing and shooting on a Rockets team that relies on it.