Houston Rockets Rumors: A splash trade for Nikola Vucevic should be made
By T.A. Mock
Pretty much everything the Houston Rockets need
Vucevic, or Vooch as he is affectionately known, has been a solid contributor throughout his entire career. He is a classic stretch four/five and has been throughout his time in the NBA. However, this season, he has taken his game to another level on a very young Magic team.
Vooch isn’t known for his defense and doesn’t really rack up the counting stats like steals and blocks but he isn’t incompetent on that end. He is very consistent on that end of the court as his defensive rating has ranged from 103-106 for the past seven years. He won’t wow you but he is capable and the team won’t be worse off with him on the court.
But, the Houston Rockets wouldn’t be adding Vooch because of his defense. The first reason they should be looking to add him is his offensive game. Vooch is just a scorer, plain and simple. He is particularly adept in the paint and has moves to spare. He’s currently shooting about 13 shots, the majority in the paint and makes over 7 of them.
On the surface, that may appear to be repetitive, considering Clint Capela‘s dominance in the paint but Vooch can do more on offense than dominate in the paint. This year, he is shooting over 38% from three on about four shots per game from beyond the arc.
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More so, Vooch is also a phenomenal rebounder, both on the defensive and offensive ends of the court. For his career, he is averaging 10 rebounds a game and this year he is averaging 12 per game, 3 of which are offensive boards.
Vooch would provide the Houston Rockets with a viable option to spell Capela for longer than 30 seconds at a time. Beyond that, his play style is diverse enough to play alongside Capela. Vooch would likely have to turn into a little bit more of a floor spacer in a Rockets uniform but that shouldn’t be an issue.
On top of the scoring fit, adding more excellent rebounders is never a bad thing. The more guys that can crash the glass the better. Vooch can crash the glass, play adequate defense, nail threes, and dominate the paint. He would be a phenomenal fit on this Houston Rockets team.