Houston Rockets Cannot Win A Championship With Ryan Anderson
The Houston Rockets have assembled a team built for a title run. The issue is, they won’t win it with Ryan Anderson. That’s not to say that Anderson is not a good player, however, he just doesn’t fit what the Rockets need come playoff time. During the regular season, the outside shooting of Anderson is a plus to have alongside James Harden, Chris Paul, and Clint Capela. But when the defense begins to tighten up in the playoffs, the Rockets will have a problem.
The Rockets are a fun team to watch. By all accounts, they might be the deepest and most-skilled team in the NBA. With that said, the Rockets are built only for regular season success. Paul and Harden compose the best backcourt in the NBA but it’s their frontcourt where the issues are.
[MarkAds]While Capela has held down the fort with averages of 14 points and 11.3 rebounds per game, he needs help in the post to keep players like Damian Lillard and Russell Westbrook from attacking the paint for easy baskets. And, let’s not forget to mention the importance of protecting the paint from opposing post players. Capela cannot expect LaMarcus Aldridge, Anthony Davis, DeMarcus Cousins or Karl Anthony-Towns to take it easy on him out of pity. I may be one of the very few who thinks Anderson is not a great fit, but only time will tell.
Ryan Anderson is providing good value for the #Houston_Rockets https://t.co/4nAmGBljO6 via @hoopshabit pic.twitter.com/szreNXSu8l
— FanSided NBA (@FanSidedNBA) December 13, 2017
Should Ryan Anderson be traded?
For the season, Anderson has averaged 10.9 points but only 5.3 rebounds from the starting power forward position. While Anderson can surely shoot the ball, it’s on the defensive side where he must help the Rockets according to Fansided. While their numbers don’t show cause for alarm, it’s not the regular season that counts. The Rockets have enough offensive firepower to keep beating teams they see once a week. But when the playoffs start, everything changes. It’s easy to outshoot the Los Angles Lakers on Monday and then the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday. But what happens when they have to face Aldridge and the San Antonio Spurs in a possible seven-game series?
Trading Anderson for a defensive-minded player like Nerlens Noel or a vet like Zach Randolph will prove to be beneficial down the road. Paul, Harden, Eric Gordon, Trevor Ariza and Tucker will do the heavy lifting on the offensive end but who will help Capela?
[BXReporter]
Mark has been covering Sports and Entertainment for the past six years. His work has been featured on Bleacher Report, ESPN, Fox Sports, Teen Vogue, and many other websites.
