The Houston Rockets have seen several key rotational players struggle in recent weeks, putting more pressure on the star players to carry the team to wins.
The Houston Rockets are a team built around two star players. Having two players of that caliber on one team is a luxury, but building a team that is reliant on stars is expected in the NBA. Every team attempts to have (or acquire) a star to lead their team, but when it comes time to win close games in the playoffs, it often comes down to the supporting cast around the star players.
In recent games, the supporting cast for the Houston Rockets has let the team down. For the Rockets, their supporting cast could include several players, but for the most part, we’ll focus on Ryan Anderson, P.J. Tucker, and Luc Mbah a Moute.
Let’s start with Anderson, a polarizing player for most Rockets fans due to his contract and limited contributions. Ryan Anderson plays to space the floor around James Harden and Chris Paul, hit 3-pointers and occasionally crash the glass. However, Anderson has struggled for a while now, and for the season is down to 9.9 points per game while shooting below 37 percent from beyond the arc.
Anderson hasn’t scored more than nine points in a game since he put up 12 points in the heated loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Jan. 15. In January, Anderson is averaging just 8.3 points per game while shooting a paltry 30.8 percent on 3-pointers. If Anderson isn’t hitting his 3s, his value is even more limited than usual. You don’t expect good defense or consistent rebounding from the 29-year-old forward, so nearly all of his contributions come from his shooting.
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As we saw last summer, it was nearly impossible to get off of Anderson’s contract, as it was reported that teams were looking for two first round picks in order to take the deal on. With the Rockets looking to be aggressive this summer (as usual), it will be interesting to see how much it will take to get off of Anderson’s contract in hopes of signing a more versatile forward.
Now, let’s take a look at P.J. Tucker. Tucker is nearly the exact opposite of Anderson, as he is on the team to provide tough, physical defense and a presence on the boards. Tucker’s defense has suffered in recent weeks, and he is posting his lowest defensive box plus-minus (1.2) since the 2012-13 season. He has also fallen to 23rd among small forwards in defensive real plus-minus, at just plus-0.61. Tucker struggled when Mbah a Moute was out with an injury, as it put more pressure on him to defend the opposing team’s best players on a nightly basis.
On the offensive end, Tucker has the ability to completely stagnate the Rockets’ offense due to his inconsistent shooting. Last season, Tucker hit 45.5 percent of his corner 3-pointers, which accounted for 73.3 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc. This season, corner 3-pointers only account for 58 percent of his total attempts, and he is hitting just 34.5 percent of them.
Tucker’s inability to hit shots like the one below will hurt Houston in the playoffs as teams will be willing to help off of Tucker in order to prevent drives to the rim.
Tucker is down to 33.8 percent on 3-pointers for the season, and his shooting (or lack of shooting for that matter) will be something to keep a close eye on throughout the remainder of the regular season.
Finally, there’s Luc Mbah a Moute, who has played six games since returning from a separated shoulder. In four of those games, Mbah a Moute has failed to score more than five points, and he has scored a combined 10 points in the past three games. Mbah a Moute’s offensive contributions fall in the same category as Tucker’s, in that he needs to hit his 3-pointers on (at least) a league-average rate in order to force defenses to stay on him instead of clogging the paint.
However, Mbah a Moute is certainly pulling his weight on the defensive end. The 31-year-old forward ranks 2nd among power forwards in defensive real plus-minus (3.32), and the Rockets’ defense fell apart in the month that Mbah a Moute missed.
Between Dec. 14 and Jan. 15 (the month Mbah a Moute missed), the Rockets posted the 25th-ranked defense in the league. Since the versatile forward returned, the team has jumped to 13th defensively. Mbah a Moute’s presence shouldn’t be overlooked, especially on the defensive end.
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Now, players go through slumps and cold streaks from time to time during an 82-game regular season. However, Houston’s supporting cast has let the team down on a fairly consistent basis for quite a while. If the Rockets want to make a deep playoff run, they’re going to need all eight or nine players in the rotation to be playing their best, which includes hitting their 3s and/or playing good defense.