Merry Christmas Houston Rockets Fans!

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Dec 17, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Houston Rockets guard James Harden (right) celebrates with Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard (left) after scoring with 10.4 seconds left in the fourth quarter against the Denver Nuggets at Pepsi Center. The Rockets won 115-111 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

Rockets Depth Chart now should now look like:

PG – Patrick Beverley/Isaiah Canaan/Jason Terry

SG – James Harden/Corey Brewer/Alexey Shved/Nick Johnson

SF – Trevor Ariza/Corey Brewer/Kostas Papanikolaou

PF – Josh Smith/Donatas Motiejunas/Kostas Papanikolaou/Terrence Jones (injured)

C – Dwight Howard/Donatas Motiejunas/Tarik Black/Clint Capela

Dec 3, 2014; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard

Michael Carter-Williams

(1) is blocked by Minnesota Timberwolves forward Corey Brewer (13) and guard

Andrew Wiggins

(22) during the fourth quarter at Target Center. The 76ers defeated the Timberwolves 85-77. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

I personally loved the Corey Brewer pickup and Rockets fans were treated to a glimpse of what Brewer can add to this team last Monday in the game against Portland. Brewer is a 6’9” wing player who can back-up Ariza and Harden, both of which were in the top 5 in the league in minutes played. And for a bit the Rockets had nobody backing up Ariza. To be fresh come playoff time, those numbers have to come down.

Brewer defensively is an outstanding TEAM defensive player, not a “lock-down” individual defensive player. What Brewer does best is utilize his length and quickness to jump passing lanes, double down on players and essentially take risks which often turn into steals and baskets in transition on the other end. He was #4 in the league in steals last year and is currently tied for 1st in steals this season.

Having Howard and Smith in the paint will make that even more possible as they will be there to protect the rim if he’s takes a gamble and misses. Trevor Ariza does some of the same things but Ariza is the better man-on-man defender of the two.

What Brewer is not good at is being a great 3-point shooter, although he did knock down a couple 3’s in the game against Portland on Monday. As we have often seen in the NBA, when a player is not ASKED to do something he doesn’t excel at, but instead only in moderation – and in Brewer’s case only when wide open due to opportunities created by others – very often the player achieves their greatest results in that category.

Nov 21, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; (Editor

It’s hard to say if Alexey Shved will have a role going forward. He was picked up partially to hold the dollar amount (his salary $3.28 million in 2014-15) that replaces the part of the trade exception that the Rockets used (obtained in the Jeremy Lin trade) to complete the Brewer/Shved trade.

Keeping Shved allows them to still use his contract if opportunity arises in a future trade later this year for salary matching purposes. This is why he was not considered as a potential cut when room for Josh Smith had to be created. Additionally it’s rumored that he may consider going back to Russia to play next season which could have the benefit of an expiring contract for the Rockets if they hold onto him for the remainder of this season.

In the meantime, what Shved gives the Rockets is a 6’6” 2-guard that can shoot from the outside a bit and has some potential to back up Harden, although I expect the rotation to tighten and Brewer to back up both Ariza and Harden against the tougher teams and in the playoffs.

That brings us to Josh Smith. Josh Smith at 6’9”, 235 was once thought to be an All-Star and was headed to be that kind of player. At this point I do not believe that is what he is. However, on the right team in the right mix, many players when left to just do what they do best, have flourished in this league.

The Rockets do not need Josh Smith to score a ton of points and they certainly do not want him taking a slew of 3’s, which he’s not very good at and has gotten himself into trouble and damaged his reputation by taking and missing too many in the past few years. But if Josh Smith will buy into what the Rockets already have going and do what he does best at the 4, it could be a huge pickup for the Rockets and resurrect his career.

What Josh Smith does best is defend, he’s a very good shot blocker and rim protector at the 4 when he’s motivated, which he was not in Detroit on a losing team. He’s also an outstanding passer which can help him fit in. Smith is an extremely athletic player with length who can run the court and finish in transition and in the past has been good offensively in the paint.

If he will gladly fill THAT role and leave the 25+ scoring to Harden and leave the 3-point shooting to Ariza, Harden, Terry, Beverley, etc. the Rockets will have an extremely formidable lineup that can contend in the West.

Many Rockets fans may say, “I don’t want Smith starting, I like what D-Mo has done in that role”. And you’re not wrong about D-Mo. But honestly the Rockets are better served to have Smith with the starting group. In the reserve role my fear is that Smith would feel a need to shoot and score more and that’s not specifically what the Rockets really want from him. Whereas D-Mo playing with the 2nd group, gives that group the low post offensive presence that they need and can work around, just as they did when Howard was out with injury.

And much like Brewer on the wing, when the rotation tightens up to 9 or even 8 against the better teams and in the playoffs, I expect D-Mo to be the backup at the 4 and the 5 and form a 3-man rotation with Howard and Josh Smith. So more than likely, D-Mo’s minutes will not change much if at all.

Dec 17, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Houston Rockets guard Isaiah Canaan (0) during the game against the Denver Nuggets at Pepsi Center. The Rockets won 115-111 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

What does need to change is Coach Kevin McHale’s instance on playing Jason Terry ahead of Isaiah Canaan. Canaan should be the backup 1. Is Canaan a great defender? No, neither is Terry who has been atrocious on the defensive end.

And although Terry has shown flashes of what he used to be at times, Canaan is on the verge of breaking out as a borderline star if given the minutes. He may not be the greatest defender or distributor, but any player that can score 20-25 on a relatively consistent basis as Canaan did when he briefly had that role, should have a starting spot or at the very least a larger role in this league.

Ironically, if you remember the Chandler Parsons signing that Daryl Morey passed on. Here is a snapshot of the significant players on this team that the Rockets added instead of Parsons for essentially the same money (yearly averages used).

Chandler Parsons – $15,361,000

Trevor Ariza $8,000,000; Corey Brewer $4,700,00; Josh Smith $2,077,000 = $14,777,000