Hornets at Rockets Gamethread

Well, here we are at another trade deadline. Speculation is rife that the Rockets will trade Clint Capela to complete their transformation into “The NBA’s Shortest Lineup”.

There have been times this season where I, along with many of you, grew frustrated with MDA’s insistence on SmallBall as the answer to everything, and often, it wasn’t the answer. But I did wonder if SmallBall was just being thrown at what was a losing situation (almost inevitably) and if it might do better if given more run, a larger sample.

Well, we’re going to find out.

Thus far the Rockets haven’t lost playing no one over 6’6”, against teams that were considerably taller. The question shouldn’t just be “What do they give up?” but also, “What do they get back in return for the move?”.

It certainly makes the Rockets even More Rocketsy. Opponents have to deal with a system that allows nearly anyone to be anywhere, and forces opposing bigs to spend all their time covering WingGuards. (Yes I made that up.) Or it forces opponents to try to match the Rockets with WingGuards of their own. Can they? Mostly not I’d guess.

Will the loss of rebounding and rim protection be worth the other gains? Will the Rockets simply wear out playing this way? We’ll soon find out.

Confession. I barely know who plays for Charlotte.