Houston Rockets: Sam Dekker To Replace Donatas Motiejunas?

The commencement of the Houston Rockets’ season is right around the corner. This team is flush with new faces, a new offense and most of all, a new mindset. That is the most-welcomed as I’d like to forget that the 2015-16 season ever happened.

The commencement of the Houston Rockets‘ season is right around the corner. This team is flush with new faces, a new offense and most of all, a new mindset. That is the most-welcomed as I’d like to forget that the 2015-16 season ever happened.

Yes, it was that bad folks.

Time after time, game after game, the Rockets continued to underachieve and looked like a discombobulated arrangement of alluding to the equivalent of five guys strung together to play a pickup basketball game.

As far as most of us can attest, sometimes the chemistry works when you assemble your team after calling “next,” and sometimes it doesn’t.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, sums up the Rockets’ preceding season, somehow backing their way into the playoffs for the ultimate setup of being embarrassed globally by the then-defending champs in the Golden State Warriors.

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But time has graciously passed and it’s time to focus on what’s in front of us.

There’s plenty to be optimistic about because the one thing I notice — which is the most important — is that this team likes being around each other and they want to help one another.

In contrast to last season, it had seemed as if the team had an all-out Civil War where a line was drawn between James Harden and Dwight Howard.

I’d imagine that it was total chaos.

The rest of the team felt implored to pick which side they’re on or else be ultimately punished by disdain by either or said star.

And poor ol’ J.B. Bickerstaff had the guise of woeful Andrew Johnson, thrust into the role of leadership but inept as far as to how to wield the power that he had just been given to resolve the issues at hand.

Now I know that I’m exaggerating just a tad with all of the hyperbole that I’ve just given you but I’m positive that the climate in the locker room was North Pole ice-cold to say the least.

But anyway, we have less than two weeks before season’s start and Donatas Motiejunas is still not on the roster.

It may be because of D-Mo’s stubbornness, it could the Rockets reluctance to offer a long-term deal to him or even B.J. Armstrong, the so-called horse whisperer trying to get him the best deal possible.

It’s a shame that he’s not in training camp with these guys but the Rockets are a business and continuity is a must for the almighty dollar.

And there’s plenty to be had in today’s NBA.

Next: Is the 2016-17 Rockets' Roster Set?

But guess who’s become the equivalent of a freight train coming down the aisle?

Sam Dekker, ya’ll.

He’s on mission to redeem himself from the myriad of back injuries he sustained over the past season is ready to make his mark on this team.

He’s flourished in his new role of playing power forward and Mike D’Antoni has taken a liking to it.

Here’s what he told the Houston Chronicle’s Jonathan Feigen yesterday:

"“I see him as a really good four,” D’Antoni said. “He’s come on. He’s embraced it. He’ll play where he needs to play. He wants to play. So if I ask him to play three, four, it doesn’t matter. Our threes and fours aren’t that different in our system. But he gives us a lot of power, a lot of speed coming off the bench at the four that helps the team out.”"

He hasn’t set the world on fire from behind-the-arc, just connecting on 27.3 percent of his treys in the preseason so far, but the big picture of him being a contributor on both ends of the floor is real.

I see the heart, I see the hustle and the fire in this guy’s eyes that can’t be extinguished.

At least for now.

Unless a last-minute pitch is successful by D-Mo to pry his way back on the team, it’s heir-apparent that the Dekker will be taking the minutes that D-Mo would’ve gotten at power forward.

It will be interesting to see what’s in store for Dekker, our first-rounder from 2015 and how he’ll fit into the rotation.

One thing’s for sure, he will give it his all and that’s certainly a stark comparison from the team’s effort this past season.

Go Rockets.

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