A late free agency addition, Luc Mbah a Moute has provided tremendous value for the Houston Rockets on the defensive end, but continues to be underrated.
After making the splashy trade for Chris Paul and signing P.J. Tucker early on in free agency, the Houston Rockets waited until late July to sign Luc Mbah a Moute for the veteran’s minimum. At the time, the signing was not being given enough praise, and so far Mbah a Moute has only further fueled the fact that his value is underrated.
Mbah a Moute has provided great value on the defensive end, which was expected. However, his role as a secondary ball-handler for bench units was not. Due to Paul’s injury, Eric Gordon serves as the “point guard” for the bench units, with Mbah a Moute occasionally taking over the duties of bringing the ball up the floor.
This has also led Mbah a Moute to attack the rim more, and he is shooting an incredible 75.8 percent on shots within three feet of the rim. In fact, Mbah a Moute’s aggression and increased playing time has led him to average the most points (8.4), rebounds (3.7) and shot attempts per game (6.5) since the 2014-15 season.
His offensive contributions stand to improve due to his poor shooting to start the season. Although he has never been a good to great shooter, he is shooting just 32.5 percent from beyond the arc, which is essentially his career average. If Mbah a Moute can continue to shoot that percentage, he will be even more valuable because he is attempting a near career-high 3.1 3-pointers per game.
Mbah a Moute’s bread and butter is still defense. So far, Mbah a Moute is averaging career highs in steals per game (1.5) and blocks per game (0.6), and is posting a 2.0 defensive box plus-minus, which when combined with P.J. Tucker’s 1.9 and Trevor Ariza‘s 0.9 DBPM, gives Houston a plethora of strong wing defenders.
Below are two examples of Mbah a Moute’s versatile defense. In this first play, he switches on to Frank Kaminsky and strips him clean as Kaminsky attacks the rim:
Then in this next play, Mbah a Moute reaches in and uses his quick hands to get the steal from Chandler Parsons:
Mbah a Moute is capable of switching and guarding nearly every position, but he is also able to generate turnovers and get steals when defending off the ball.
The defensive abilities of Tucker and Mbah a Moute have allowed Mike D’Antoni to get creative with lineup combinations, most notably by surrounding Ryan Anderson with the two aforementioned wings in order to get an effective mix of offense and defense. In 122 minutes, the trio of Tucker, Mbah a Moute and Anderson has posted an offensive rating of 113.3 and defensive rating of 95.4, good for a net rating of 17.9!
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Luc Mbah a Moute can provide tremendous value in many ways, especially on the defensive end. If his 3-point shooting remains at his career average, he will only provide more offensive value in addition to his versatile defensive abilities.