Houston Rockets: Mid-Season Report

Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

POWER FORWARDS

Who do we have?

Terrence Jones, Omri Casspi, Donatas Motiejunas

How are they doing?

Remember at the beginning of the year when Kevin McHale was experimenting with Asik and Howard on the floor at the same time, leaving the Rockets without a true Power Forward? Well thank Terrence Jones that the “experiment” is over now, because without his stellar play at the 4 the Rockets could be in a lot worse shape than they are today.

The Kentucky product has made leaps and (re)bounds this year to secure himself in the starting lineup on a nightly basis for the Houston Rockets. He only played 19 games last season, but has already played 38 of the 41 games this season. He has doubled his PPG, RPG, and APG this season, and seems like a solid option for the Rockets at the 4 spot.

Could the position be upgraded? Sure. But let’s give the guy a break, he’s only in his second season and has the looks of a potential star in this league. Not a superstar, don’t get all up in arms at me, but I could definitely see him flourishing over the coming years into exactly what the Rockets want and need from their 4 spot.

Casspi has been a nice addition to the team (he’s played 40 of 41 games so far this season) and stretches the floor really well when the Rockets go small and Terrence Jones plays at center. He can hit threes for days, although his cold streaks are really ugly, and I’ve seen him throw it down a few times. Who says white men can’t jump?!

Motiejunas has suffered this season. I can’t tell if it’s his sub par performances, the rise of Terrence Jones, or a combination of the two, but he has not progressed positively from his first to his second season in the NBA. He averages less than 10 minutes per game this year, and that number is only going to get smaller when the games really start to matter. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s involved in a trade before the February 20th deadline.

Overall Grade: B

Reason: Considering this wasn’t even a position on opening day for the Rockets, I must say that Terrence Jones is doing a solid job of helping the Rockets this season. The ‘B’ is because it’s been above average and not great production. Although Jones has shown some flashes of excellence this season.