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The Rockets have embraced the Micro USB (Ultra Small Ball)
era. With the only remaining centers on the roster being 37-year-old Tyson
Chandler (8.4 minutes per game in 26 appearances) and Prodigal Son, Isaiah
Hartenstein (recently sent to the G League), the Rockets have taken head coach
Mike D’Antoni’s vision and created a reality.
The idea behind this upheaval is that any player on the
floor for the Rockets is responsible for being able to guard 1 through 5. The
Rockets will implement the switching defense that was so successful with pieces
like Luc Mbah a Moute and Trevor Ariza in previous years. With the recent additions of Robert
Covington, DeMarre Carroll, and Jeff Green, the Rockets hope to maintain a
level of defensive flexibility that translates into offensive freedom.
After being a top-12 rebounding team, largely due to Clint
Capela, the Rockets are being out-rebounded by double-digits per game since the
trade deadline. How does the team plan to tackle the Rudy Gobert's and Anthony
Davis’ of the world? Well, by crashing the boards. With everyone.
— Taylor Pate (@taylorlpate) February 20, 2020
On this play, the Rockets are playing a hybrid defensive
set, involving Box and One and their switching scheme. As Russell Westbrook
cuts off Anthony Davis on the way to the goal, Rajon Rondo passes off to LeBron
James at the top of the key. Robert Covington maintains his position at the
free throw line, eventually leading to a pass to Rajon Rondo in the corner.
After a quick closeout, PJ Tucker and the rest of the Rockets are all in the
paint and boxing out.
By keeping a ball-hawk on shooters/ball handlers and leaving
non-shooters open, the Rockets are enticing teams to have their less-than-stellar
shooters put up shots while they lay in wait for rebound opportunities. Obviously this strategy isn't unique to the NBA, but it's even more important for a team with no center to have as many bodies as possible to grab a rebound.
Rockets opponents are also being baited into thinking that
they have a mismatch down low. In the next clip, Alex Caruso badly misses
Anthony Davis on a roll, but Davis winds up with a mismatch and the ball nonetheless.
Eric Gordon plays some sound initial defense and Austin Rivers collapses to
help. But again, the Lakers have four players on the perimeter and the Rockets
have five players in the paint. A contested Anthony Davis turnaround, even with
smaller guys guarding him, is a win for the Rockets defense.
— Taylor Pate (@taylorlpate) February 20, 2020
Of course, the downside to playing this style is that a
defensive lapse is far more devastating for the Rockets. On this play, Thabo
Sefolosha and Danuel House Jr. have a miscommunication and both follow the roll
man, Daniel Theis. This leads to the WIDEST of wide-open threes. Luckily for
the Rockets, Tatum misses this shot. Unfortunately, Ben McLemore tries to contest
the shot and the long rebound comes right back to Tatum, so McLemore’s man,
Marcus Smart, is left for an open three. McLemore’s close-out on Tatum prevented
him from being in position at the free throw line to grab a long rebound (see
PJ Tucker in the last clip), which all started with Sefolosha missing the switch.
— Taylor Pate (@taylorlpate) February 20, 2020
Again, a small error by Covington coupled with Austin Rivers
sliding down late leaves the Rockets out of position and James Harden is unable
to get in front of Theis. Had Rivers been in position (pause the clip at 4
seconds) when the pass was made to Jaylen Brown on the opposite wing, you would
have House boxing out Tatum, which leaves you with Rivers and Harden on either
side of Theis. Alternatively, if Covington switches on to Brown sooner, the open
three is never there.
— Taylor Pate (@taylorlpate) February 20, 2020
Sometimes, the bigger squirrel just gets the nut. Grant
Williams gets in and takes advantage of the smaller Rivers. Aside from Ben McLemore
not crashing the boards, this is otherwise pretty good defense. With a unit
sporting Westbrook, Rivers, and McLemore, this kind of rebound is just going to
happen sometimes.
— Taylor Pate (@taylorlpate) February 20, 2020
At this point, the Micro USB lineup doesn’t have enough time
on the court to pull enough data worth analyzing, but finding trends over the
next few weeks should provide some clue as to whether or not the Rockets can
compete for a title with their revolutionary changes. If the Rockets can remain competitive on the glass, they should find success both for the rest of the regular season and in the playoffs.
