Houston Rockets: How Kenneth Faried has provided a boost

Despite receiving hardly little to any playing time over his last three seasons in the league, Kenneth Faried has managed to surprisingly provide the Houston Rockets with an instant lift.

Not too long ago, Kenneth Faried was once considered by most scouts as one of the top young players in all of basketball.

The 29-year-old captured the attention of the globe with his tremendous hustle and motor inside at the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup, averaging 12.4 points and 7.8 rebounds per game alongside Anthony Davis, en route to leading the USA Basketball to the gold medal.

Yet despite his impressive showing, Faried would soon become a near-extinct figure at the game’s highest level.

Faried, who was one of two players on Team USA to receive All-Tournament honors, found himself outside of the rotation with the Denver Nuggets for the first time in his career, as teams across the league immediately began to place an emphasis on floor-spacing and shooting at nearly every position, all the while seeking to part ways with athletic forwards of his once coveted caliber.

"“It sucked,” Faried told ESPN’s Tim Bontemps when asked about his experiences of not receiving playing time after his first several seasons in the league last week.“I’m thinking everyone is going to be able to come [and watch me play]. Everyone was able to come but wasn’t able to watch me.”"

Now, Faried appears to have officially found a quality landing spot, as the former All-Rookie First Team selection has emerged from the shadows to provide immediate assistance to the Houston Rockets.

Faried recently signed with Houston after receiving a buyout from the Brooklyn Nets, and has supplied his new teammates with a much-needed spark since joining the rotation last week, averaging 15.2 points and 9.8 rebounds per game on 56.4 percent shooting from the field through his first five outings.

"“He plays with a great amount of energy,” Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni told Bontemps. “Athleticism, runs the floor. I think he does exactly what we do. The way that we play will complement him, and he will complement us…I think he’s a perfect for us.”"

Although it remains to be seen exactly how the 6’8″, 220-pound product will perform the rest of the way, Rockets faithful should be quite impressed by his recent sample size of work, as the player who averaged less than 10 minutes per game during his brief stint in Brooklyn has proven to be a quality piece within D’Antoni’s system at the 5-spot.

In spite of only having a couple of practices to gain familiarity with his new regime, Faried has managed to be quite effective late in games for Clutch City, serving as an operable pick-and-roll threat and hauling down critical rebounds in the process. Alongside James Harden and Chris Paul, the Manimal’s active presence has provided the Rockets with an opportunity to finish contests with an athletic big man in the wake of Clint Capela‘s recent thumb injury.

"“I’m ecstatic just to be playing basketball again,” Faried told Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle earlier this week. “A team that trusts to start me and gives me meaningful minutes at the end of close-out games, that means a lot.“It doesn’t matter if my role is this or do this, if it’s a little bit, a lot, if it’s play all 48 [minutes]. I’ll give it my all until I pass the hell out.”"

Faried and the Rockets will seek to vie for their fourth win in the last five outings on Friday night when they face Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets at the Pepsi Center.