Due to an injury and the team’s focus on the defensive end of the floor, Ryan Anderson has suddenly found himself in a new role for the Houston Rockets.
When the Houston Rockets signed Ryan Anderson during the summer of 2016, they had finally found their much-needed stretch-4. Not only did they need to surround James Harden with more shooting, but after bringing in Mike D’Antoni as head coach, they desperately needed floor-spacing and elite shooting. That’s exactly what Ryan Anderson provides.
In his first season in Houston, Anderson filled the role nicely, as he was able to stay healthy and provide the Rockets with valuable floor-spacing and shooting in 72 games. Anderson attempted a career-high 7 3-pointers per game, hitting 40.3 percent of them, and many of his 3-pointers came several steps behind the actual 3-point line, making his spacing more unique and valuable for Harden.
However, when it comes to Anderson’s contributions, they are often limited to shooting and the occasional offensive rebound. On the defensive end, Anderson was an extreme liability for the Rockets, which, when coupled with a shooting slump, made him nearly unplayable in the playoffs.
But as the 2017-18 season began, fans noticed a new Ryan Anderson — one that was slimmer and more active on the boards, leading to an improvement (albeit a slight one) on the defensive end.
Anderson’s shooting has been fairly inconsistent this season, and he is down to 38.8 percent from beyond the arc, still an elite number. However, he is attempting fewer 3-pointers (5.4 per game), and is playing less (27.1 minutes per game) as the Rockets made several key additions in the offseason at the forward positions.
The additions of Luc Mbah a Moute and P.J. Tucker not only provided the Rockets with two high-quality defenders, but also players that can hit the corner 3-pointer (a basic necessity for the off-ball shooters in Houston’s offense). As a result of this increased focus on the defensive end of the floor, these two wings entered into prominent roles in the rotation, often pushing out defensive liabilities like Anderson.
In fact, Tucker has started the past 19 games for Houston, as the team has won 18 of them, mainly due to their improved defense during that stretch. Since Feb. 7, Houston owns the ninth-ranked defense in the league (which has decreased due to some recent high-scoring games), as they can now boast several quality defenders in their starting lineup, from the aforementioned Tucker to other stalwarts such as Chris Paul, Trevor Ariza and Clint Capela.
Of course, it must be pointed out that Ryan Anderson missed nine games during that stretch, which made his transition into a bench role more seamless. As of now, there are no indications that Anderson is upset with the role change, despite being a perennial starter with the Rockets up until February.
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However, Anderson has experience coming off the bench, as he has done just that in his previous stops with teams such as the Orlando Magic and New Orleans Hornets (now the Pelicans). In fact, in four seasons with New Orleans, Anderson started just 48 of the 230 games he played in.
It is not discussed enough that Mike D’Antoni was willing to make a significant change to the starting lineup in the middle of an incredibly successful season for the Rockets, and one that is built on the team’s strong chemistry. A shake-up of this magnitude has the potential to disrupt such chemistry as players are discouraged by their new roles, but the Rockets train has continued churning along.
This change goes to show that Houston is serious about being an elite defensive team, and it will impact its playoff rotation fairly significantly. In Anderson’s three games back from his injury, he played 11, 17 and seven minutes, respectively. This was mainly due to a minutes restriction as he was returning from a fairly serious injury, but it is also a result of Houston’s desire and willingness to play superior defenders that can still hit open 3-pointers.
While Houston doesn’t have the elite pick-and-pop option without Anderson on the floor, they can still rely on their elite isolation offense to generate offense and open corner or wing 3-pointers for Mbah a Moute and Tucker.
In the playoffs, Anderson’s minutes may continue to be cut as teams focus on exposing him defensively. Anderson may find himself playing his majority of playoff minutes as a backup center, surrounded by elite wing defenders such as Mbah a Moute, Ariza and/or Tucker in order to hide him on the opposing team’s least mobile/active offensive player.
However, with the Rockets also having Nene as an option at center in physical matchups, Anderson may find himself playing 10 minutes or less in some playoff games, especially if he is struggling with his shot. Against certain teams such as the Minnesota Timberwolves, Anderson has had plenty of success spacing the floor, while he could struggle in other matchups against better defensive teams.
Regardless, come playoff time it is likely that Anderson is an offensive spark plug off the bench, used to create more space for Harden and Paul when they are isolating. Whether at center or his traditional power forward position, Anderson still provides a lot of value for the Rockets’ offense. Now that Houston has several elite wing defenders, they can better game plan around his defensive deficiencies come playoff time, which makes them even harder to attack on that end of the floor.
Next: 2017-18 Week 23 NBA Power Rankings
While Anderson’s minutes, shot attempts and scoring are all significantly decreasing this season, this is a result of Houston’s lofty playoff goals and the necessity to be elite on both ends of the floor in order to be a true title contender. Just don’t be surprised to see Anderson shoot lights out during a playoff game to provide a significant boost for the Rockets just when they need it most.