Houston Rockets: Have they failed during the 2018 NBA offseason?

Despite not having the tallest of tasks, the Houston Rockets may have managed to botch free agency. It may cost them their chance at the Golden State Warriors

The Houston Rockets were just one game away from knocking off the Golden State Warriors. Houston had home-court advantage and looked poised to end the Bay Area’s reign over the NBA.

Had the Rockets not had the worst 3-point shooting performance in the history of professional basketball, there would be a different team savoring the Larry O’Brien Trophy.

Instead, the Rockets beat themselves by continuously hoisting prayers from beyond the arc and kept having empty possessions ending in one missed shot. Offensive rebounding wasn’t always there but wasn’t necessarily the issue in that contest.

Despite the fact that Chris Paul was injured earlier in the series and unable to suit up for the deciding game, Trevor Ariza and Gerald Green essentially stabbed the team in the back.

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Green was handed 21 minutes off the bench and managed to find the bottom of the net just once. That one shot came from beyond the arc but he missed six other tries (three from deep) to limp to a 1-7 night (14.3%) from the field.

He wasn’t nearly as bad as Ariza, however. Ariza is known to be one of the league’s valuable “three-and-D” wings. In this game, the three just wasn’t there. He went 0-9 from downtown and also whiffed on his other three attempts from the field, resulting in a horrid 0-12 performance.

It’s not like Houston didn’t have another option, as the Rockets had another three-and-D wing similar to Ariza in Luc Mbah a Moute. Mike D’Antoni decided to let him ride the bench in the deciding game, not logging a single minute while Green struggled and Ariza horrified.

Despite all of that, just 10 points separated them from the NBA Finals, as they fell 101-92 in Game 7. Houston converted a measly 7-44 tries from 3 (15.9%) in the gut-wrenching defeat. Even if they hit 11-44 (25%) from deep, they would’ve won the game on a still-poor showing from deep.

But there is no if. There’s only the result in the history books, where the Golden State Warriors won their third NBA title in just four years.

Houston should be primed to make another run and learn from their mistakes, right? Well, the answer to that question may very well be no.

Since then, Houston has seen their personnel change. Trevor Ariza opted to join the youth movement that the Phoenix Suns have assembled. Mbah a Moute put pen to paper with the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Rockets signed James Ennis to act as a solid threat from deep but he isn’t the defensive stalwart Ariza or Mbah a Moute were last season. P.J. Tucker remains a solid option as a two-way wing for the Rockets but the depth behind him is pretty thin this time around.

Scoring won’t be an issue, as Chris Paul, James Harden, Eric Gordon and Clint Capela all appear to be returning, though Capela’s fate is yet to be officially sealed. Though there have been widespread reports of interest in Carmelo Anthony once he’s away from the Oklahoma City Thunder, he offers about as much defensive impact as human-sized swiss cheese. He doesn’t fit.

The additions of Michael Carter-Williams and De’Anthony Melton will help out by defending the guards, though their playing time would come at the expense of Harden or Paul given their positions.

Not being able to retain at least one of Ariza and Mbah a Moute will sting like salt in an open wound. With all of the athletic wings that can score with ease, namely the pair of LeBron James and Kevin Durant, whom Houston will presumably need to go through to reach the NBA Finals, the ability to defend them, or at least limit them, was invaluable.

Without depth behind P.J. Tucker, the Rockets will inevitably have issues defending those wings. Instead, they’re likely to roll with a guard-heavy defensive approach. Along with Harden, Paul and Gordon, Carter-Williams and Melton will presumably be in a rotation for minutes at the guard slots. Eric Gordon may even slot in as a small forward at times in a guard-oriented lineup.

One way Houston can still search for more wing effectiveness from their forwards could be through trades. As the Philadelphia 76ers did in a trade with the Denver Nuggets earlier this season, salary dumps can prove effective for both sides. The 76ers absorbed Wilson Chandler’s large contract and now have an extra wing in their rotation who is both experienced and talented.

If Houston can find a way to package Ryan Anderson, who is a scorer without defensive prowess, along with a draft pick, they could have a shot at another capable wing. Maybe the Atlanta Hawks, who are looking to dump Kent Bazemore, is a good place to start. Maybe the Charlotte Hornets make Michael Kidd-Gilchrist available. Utah’s Jae Crowder would work too.

The options are there for the Rockets but if they can’t find a way to pull in another defending forward, this team that captivated the league last year will not be the same. Especially since the Golden State Warriors hauled in DeMarcus Cousins, the league has been put on notice.

Other than the Houston Rockets, LeBron’s new-look Lakers and the Boston Celtics, who will have Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward back from their respective injuries, the league has minimal resistance to the Warriors.

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Houston was just inches from changing the game and downing the tyrants. However, without the defensive presence and depth therein, this Rockets team won’t be as successful as they just were last season. Free agency isn’t over yet but re-signing Clint Capela is priority No. 1.

Ariza’s woeful performance in Game 7 and Mbah a Moute’s non-existence during that game may have sealed their fates. While the 3-and-D wings aren’t flashy, they were the secret weapon to the run to the Western Conference Finals. Without them, the Rockets won’t have the easiest of journeys back, especially with LeBron James now in the West.