Houston Rockets takeaways: The emergence of young, budding stars
Perhaps the most underrated move of the entire season was the Rockets acquiring Kevin Porter Jr. from Clevland for a mere second-round pick, which is top-55 protected and likely to never convey.
The 21-year-old shooting guard from USC has the makings of becoming not just the next star in Houston but one of the stars of the entire NBA.
From a silky smooth step-back jumper, resembling the likes of Harden, to having great court vision to be able to find and accurately dish the ball out to an open teammate, Porter’s offensive ceiling is through the roof if he can become more consistent on a nightly basis.
In 26 games as a Rocket, Porter averaged 16.6 points and 6.3 assists, with his biggest highlight of the year coming against the Bucks on April 29th as he dropped a career-high 50 points, becoming only the fourth player in NBA history to reach the half-century mark in a single game before turning 21, and dished out 11 assists.
Defensively, Porter improved as the season progressed and ultimately showed signs of his potential to be a very good defender, if he puts in the effort, given his size and natural athleticism.
Jae’Sean Tate was another steal the Rockets picked up in the 2020 offseason. Tate made his impact on the Rockets from the second he walked in the door and ended up having a rookie season that is well-deserving of earning a spot on the 2021 NBA All-Rookie Team.
Though only 6’4″, Tate plays much bigger than his size and won’t back down from anyone. Tate is the type of energy guy that every team needs because you always know what you are getting with him on the floor: total effort on both ends of the floor.
While Tate’s energy and defense were certain to help the Rockets, his offense was the biggest question mark entering the season as many wondered whether he would be a liability on that end of the floor.
Tate proved anyone who doubted his ability to score wrong, averaging 11.3 points per game on the season including shooting 30.8 percent from 3-point range, a big plus for Houston. As a result, Tate established himself as one of the few constants in Houston’s starting rotation which seemed to shift on almost a nightly basis.
Both Tate and Porter Jr. showed that they will be a big part of the new-look Rockets and have the potential to star in this league in only a few years’ time.
Besides the Rockets young core of Wood, Porter Jr. and Tate, guard Armoni Brooks and forwards Kyhri Thomas and Kenyon Martin Jr. are a few of the other young Rockets to pay attention to as each showed progression throughout the season and have the potential to take a major leap forward.