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It was on February 4th, two days before the trade deadline, the Houston Rockets got involved in a 4-team, 12-player trade deal. They gave away their most valuable defender in Clint Capela and got sharpshooting wing Robert Covington on the board.
Covington provides the squad with both exceptional defensive abilities and the potential to knock down three-pointers at a consistent clip. By letting Capela go, Houston have gone small-ball with PJ Tucker acting as the main man in the paint for the team.
This strategy is not new, as it has been tried and tested by a lot of NBA teams previously. Golden State are a perfect example of utilising this line-up to change the momentum of games in the latter stages. However, it was dependent on in-game situations and not a long-term strategy - the Rockets though are adopting it as a tactic for the rest of the campaign.
Since Capela's last appearance in Houston, the Rockets have played nine games and outperformed expectations, being the talk of the town in recent weeks. Today, we discuss three main reasons for the Rockets' small-ball line-up proving to be boon rather than a bane at present:
#3 Individual defense has improved
We have seen James Harden being lazy on the defensive end a lot in recent years. This behaviour might be because his offensive abilities allow him to cover up the same number of points by scoring on the opposite end, but most of it was due to Clint Capela providing dependable cover.
Whenever anyone on the squad used to miss a man they were defending, Capela was always there at the rim or outside to cover up. With him being traded though, the Rockets have needed to apply extra efforts on the defensive end. The team are more responsible and everybody has raised their individual level of defense, Harden included.
Covington's arrival has, in the early going, proven a welcome blessing to a team packed with ability but one who equally needed an extra cog in the machine to take them to the next level.
Very active on the wings, he makes life tough for opponents - regardless of their size. Harden's defensive role has shifted more deep, but their franchise star has responded positively by delivering his best defensive display on a nightly basis.
#2 The stats speak for themselves
The Rockets have won seven of their nine games played since Capela's departure. In this stretch, they have beaten teams including the Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics and Utah Jazz - while improving to 36-20 for the season, where they sit fourth in the Western Conference and pose a threat to the other championship contending teams.
Offensively, the team has been led from the front by the dynamic duo of James Harden and Russell Westbrook, with the pair producing exceptional numbers on a nightly basis. To our surprise, the defensive statistics have not been declining either. With a defensive rating of 110.6 in the post-Capela phase thus far, they have improved across most categories.
They lead the league in steals per game, while recording five blocks per game over the same strretch. Defensive rebounding is a category where they are unsurprisingly lagging behind without a traditional big man on-court, but we can expect that to improve during the business months of this NBA regular season.
#1 Russell Westbrook has been at his ferocious best
With the transition to small-ball, it means Russell Westbrook has the license to attack the rim without hesitation in Houston. He can now create shots for himself, targeting any and all defenders that come his way.
Westbrook's drive is his most powerful tool and naturally, we have seen him taking more drives to the rim lately. The number of drives per game has increased since Capela's departure, while his other offensive numbers have improved too.
He leads the league with 20 drives a game, as well as passes made per game - hence remaining unselfish, creating opportunities for fellow teammates too. Despite struggling to find a rhythm from three-point range (24.6%), he's free to play his natural game, evidenced by stats: 27.2 points, 7.9 rebounds, 7.2 assists and 1.6 steals per game in 45 contests.
He has been shooting exceptionally well from the field (career-high 46.6%) and the Rockets will hope this consistency can remain into the postseason.
