It wasn’t that long ago that the Houston Rockets were competing for the top seed in the Western Conference. However, after a rough couple of weeks, a number of other teams have caught up and have eventually passed the Rockets.
The Rockets enter Monday just fifth in the conference and are now dealing with an even bigger problem. Star center Dwight Howard is expected to miss at least a month because of persistent trouble with his right knee. Howard is in the process of consulting various doctors in an effort to properly diagnose the situation and find the best possible solution to recover in time for a potential playoff run.
But his teammates will have to carry the load without him. Houston is 7.5 games up on the New Orleans Pelicans for ninth in the Western Conference standings. Though it’s unlikely they will fall completely out of the top eight, it is also just as likely that they won’t be able to close the gap on the teams in front of them in order to clinch home court advantage in the playoffs. The Rockets face an uphill climb the rest of the way but they can maintain their position – or improve – if these three players step up in Howard’s absence:
Donatas Motiejunas
One player that will obviously need to step up is Motiejunas. He has started 39 games this season and has averaged 11.5 points and 6.1 rebounds per game this season and will be called on as arguably the team’s most reliable big man with Howard sidelined. There is nobody on the Houston roster that will be able to make up for the 16.3 points, 11 rebounds and 1.4 blocks that Howard brings to the table season.
However, Motiejunas should get more looks as the offensive end of the floor and the numbers prove that there isn’t a big drop off in point production when Howard has been out this season. The real issue is at the defensive end of the floor where Howard has been one of the league’s most dominant big men and it will be interesting to see if Motiejunas can step up in that area of his game.
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Josh Smith
Another player that will be asked to step up is Smith. The Rockets took a chance on Smith when he was released by the Detroit Pistons earlier in the year with the hope that he could provide some depth and while he has shown flashes of the player that he once was, it’s difficult to gauge what they will get out of him in an expanded role.
Smith has averaged 12.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 3.6 assists this season but he played 23 minutes against his former team the other night and was held to just seven points on 3-of-11 shooting in 23 minutes off the bench. Smith has proven to be a black hole on offense and with his horrible shooting percentages, he has hurt the team. If he can make better decisions, bring his solid defense to the table and not try to do too much on offense, he can help soften the blow while Howard is out.
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James Harden
The Rockets don’t have the greatest depth in terms of their big men but they do have a strong cast that includes Motiejunas, Smith, Trevor Ariza, Patrick Beverley and Jason Terry. Every player on the roster will be asked to step up. That includes MVP candidate James Harden, who has been absolutely dominant this season.
Harden has averaged a ridiculous 27 points per game as well as 6.8 assists and 5.6 rebounds and as long as he continues to play at that level it will make everyone else around him better. Harden might need to do even more with Howard out and but if he does, then Houston should be able to find its way in to the playoffs with a favorable seeding. The Rockets went 8-3 in 11 games that Howard missed in November and December, and they’ll have to come close to that in the next month to maintain their positioning.
