Tag: Ben McLemore

How Isaiah Hartenstein earned his contract guarantee from Rockets

With a strong closing week in December, young center Isaiah Hartenstein appears to have made himself a bigger priority to the Rockets.

Be it for financial reasons, roster flexibility, or a combination of the two, it seems clear after Tuesday’s decision to waive second-year forward Gary Clark that the Houston Rockets always intended to free up a roster spot prior to the NBA’s annual buyout season in January and February.

In hindsight, the most intriguing aspect of the storyline was the team’s choice regarding what player would go to create that opening.

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The three obvious candidates were Clark, 21-year-old center Isaiah Hartenstein, and 26-year-old guard Ben McLemore, since they were all on partially guaranteed contracts and could be waived without the team incurring as much “dead money,” relative to a waived player with a fully guaranteed deal. Tuesday was the last day that players with partial guarantees could be waived without being owed a full season’s salary.

McLemore clearly wasn’t going to go, since he had carved out a regular role in head coach Mike D’Antoni‘s rotation with the Rockets and averaged nearly 28 minutes per game in December.

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The choice for GM Daryl Morey effectively came down to an athletic big in Hartenstein or a defensive-minded forward in Clark. Both had nearly identical contracts for this season and next year.

As recently as Christmas Day, Hartenstein appeared to be behind Clark in the team’s pecking order. In 18 Rockets games from Nov. 18 through Dec. 25, the young seven-footer played in just seven of them, averaging 3.0 points and 1.4 rebounds in a mere 8.5 minutes per game.

Hartenstein even played in three December games with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Houston’s G League affiliate — which typically shows that a player isn’t in the parent team’s immediate plans. Clark, on the other hand, did not play in any G League games in December.

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Over that same 18-game stretch that Hartenstein played just seven times (largely mop-up duty) for an average of 8.5 minutes, Clark had several stints in D’Antoni’s actual rotation. By comparison, the 6-foot-6 forward played 14 of those 18 games at 12.8 minutes per game.

But Hartenstein got his chance when Clint Capela missed two games in late December with a right heel contusion, and he took advantage in a big way. In the two games that Capela missed, Hartenstein averaged 14 points (72.2% shooting) and 11 rebounds in 29.3 minutes.

Though Capela returned for Houston’s Dec. 31 game versus Denver, D’Antoni stuck with Hartenstein as his backup center ahead of veteran Tyson Chandler. The 2017 second-round pick continued to excel with 16 points (75% shooting) and 12 rebounds in a win over the Nuggets, including a team-best plus/minus figure of +21 in only 18 minutes.

After that game, D’Antoni offered rave reviews of Hartenstein:

Offensively, he does things nobody can teach. He’s quick in getting picks for James, he’s quick off the ball, relentless on the boards. Just his energy alone makes him valuable.

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It was a small sample of only three games, but the raw numbers of 14.7 points (73.1% FG) and 11.3 rebounds in just 25.5 minutes were hard to ignore. Moreover, for the NBA’s oldest roster and often an undersized one with 6-foot-5 P.J. Tucker starting at power forward, Hartenstein’s dose of youth, size, and athleticism up front was a welcome change.

Another part of the team’s thinking may have had to do with the recent return of Eric Gordon from knee surgery. With Gordon and McLemore able to play reserve minutes at shooting guard and small forward, that allows 6-foot-6 Danuel House Jr. to slide over to power forward when Tucker sits. In turn, that takes away Clark’s most clear path to minutes.

In contrast, at the center spot, Chandler played in just five of Houston’s 15 games in December after appearing in 13 of 15 in November. It seemed apparent that the Rockets were open to an upgrade, and Hartenstein took full advantage of his opportunity.

If he isn’t claimed on waivers, the relationship between Clark and the Rockets may not be over. According to media reports Tuesday, if the team is unsuccessful in pursuing a veteran player for that roster spot, they could pivot back to Clark at a later date.

For now, the two sides will go their separate ways. Though the Rockets say they still like Clark’s potential, the combination of a sudden emergence by Hartenstein and Gordon’s promising return seemingly squeezed the 25-year-old out of their plans for the time being.

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Rockets luxury tax update after waiving Gary Clark

Although the Rockets are slightly above the luxury tax, there are factors that should make them operate as if they are much more above it.

The Houston Rockets waived forward Gary Clark on Tuesday ahead of the NBA’s salary guarantee deadline. He only appeared in 18 games this season and was in and out of the rotation.

Clark’s 2019-20 salary was only 50% guaranteed. Had he not been waived today his $1.4 million salary would’ve become fully guaranteed. Guard Ben McLemore and center Isaiah Hartenstein both are now fully guaranteed for the rest of the season.

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Clark leaves the Rockets with a $708,426 dead cap hit, bringing them from $1.2 million over the luxury tax down to about $331,000.

Houston Rockets current cap sheet after waiving Gary Clark and fully guarantee Ben McLemore and Isaiah Hartenstein.
Houston Rockets current cap sheet after waiving Gary Clark and fully guarantee Ben McLemore and Isaiah Hartenstein.

The Rockets need to reduce much more payroll than the figure they are over the luxury tax by if they are to stay under it by the end of the season. Although the Rockets are slightly above the  tax, there are factors that should make them operate as if they are much more above it.

For starters, center Clint Capela has $2 million in incentives that he can earn. He can earn $500,000 if he plays 2,000 minutes and finishes with a 30% defensive rebounding rate, and $1 million if the Rockets reach the 2020 Western Conference Finals.

Capela currently has a 31.6% defensive rebounding rate as of January 7 and has played 973 minutes in 29 of the team’s 35 games, according to Basketball-Reference. If he earns both incentives, that would increase his cap hit by $1.5 million. This means the Rockets, as currently constructed, can consider themselves $1.8 million over the luxury tax.

One thing that feels certain is that veteran center Nene will be traded. He is eligible to be traded on January 15, and clearing his $2.6 million base salary would bring the Rockets from $1.8 million over the tax to $734,000 below it. This leaves them with tight flexibility for the rest of the season to fill their last one or two roster spots, which they could do through either 10-day contracts or pro-rated minimum deals while avoiding the luxury tax with Capela potentially earning $1.5 million in incentives.

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A second trade would give them a lot more flexibility below the tax line. They can trade one of Gerald Green (who has trade veto power), Thabo Sefolosha, or Tyson Chandler, all of whom have a $1.6 million cap hit. If they were able to trade one of them, Houston would further increase their luxury tax cushion to about $2.4 million.

Initial indications are that GM Daryl Morey wants to use Clark’s open roster spot to bring in an impact player, perhaps sooner rather than later. If such a move happens in January, that could require a second trade.

There are several ways the Rockets can go about evading the tax while filling out the roster. They generally all lead back to the same road, but the route they take will become clear once the trade deadline passes.

Ben McLemore ‘very likely’ to have contract guaranteed by Rockets

A new ESPN report says reserve guard Ben McLemore is “very likely” to have his contract fully guaranteed by the Houston Rockets.

According to a new ESPN report, the Houston Rockets are “very likely” to fully guarantee the contract of reserve swingman Ben McLemore for the 2019-20 season by Tuesday afternoon’s effective deadline.

Tuesday at 4 p.m. Central effectively serves the decision deadline for NBA teams to decide whether to keep players on partially guaranteed deals for the full season or to waive them, which can save money and free up a roster spot. McLemore is one of three Rockets without fully guaranteed contracts, alongside young prospects Isaiah Hartenstein and Gary Clark.

The potential financial savings can be especially lucrative to teams with expensive rosters like the Rockets with luxury tax concerns. However, it appears the 26-year-old McLemore has sold Houston on his value.

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Zach Lowe writes:

McLemore’s full $2 million salary for this season locks in if he remains on Houston’s roster beyond Thursday, though the more practical deadline is today at 5 p.m. [Eastern] — the last moment Houston can waive McLemore before his contract guarantees. It appears very likely he sticks beyond that deadline, even though the Rockets are barely above the luxury tax line. (They could also keep him and trade him later.)

It shouldn’t come as a huge surprise. McLemore appears to have increasingly earned more trust from head coach Mike D’Antoni as the 2019-20 season has moved along, with his minutes per game rising from 7.3 in October to 24.5 in November and 27.7 in December.

His efficiency has improved in kind, with McLemore shooting 44.3% from the field and 39.2% on 3-pointers in December. Both of those figures are well above his 37.1% and 31.7% numbers in November, and his 30.0% clip in both categories during October.

It’s likely that McLemore’s minutes will decline from December levels, now that reserve guard Eric Gordon is back from a lengthy injury absence.

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However, even if his minutes dip some, McLemore has clearly shown enough for the Rockets to keep him around as a bench contributor and potentially valuable insurance policy against other future injuries.

Entering 2019-20, McLemore was largely seen as a bust ⁠— at least relative to his draft position as a 2013 lottery pick ⁠— after his first six NBA seasons with the Sacramento Kings and Memphis Grizzlies. But this is the first time in his career that he’s been with a contender, and he’s currently fitting in quite well around stars James Harden and Russell Westbrook.

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The Rockets (24-11) also have decisions to make Tuesday regarding Hartenstein and Clark, with each facing the same timeline for his contract becoming fully guaranteed for the 2019-20 season.

Final word on their fate should arrive later Tuesday afternoon.

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Warriors trap James Harden, and Rockets can’t make them pay

With James Harden routinely trapped, Houston’s shooters went ice cold from three-point range as the Warriors pulled away on Christmas Day.

The Golden State Warriors had a clear game plan on Christmas Day versus the Houston Rockets: Make anyone outside of James Harden beat them.

It proved to be a winning strategy.

After leading by as many as 13 points in the first half, the Rockets (21-10) scored just 36 points in the second half and lost by a 116-104 margin to the host Warriors (8-24), who have now won three consecutive games.

The Rockets finished their four-game West Coast road trip at 3-1, with a home game against the Brooklyn Nets looming Saturday.

The story for Houston was what happened when the ball was forced out of Harden’s hands. Even though the Warriors routinely trapped Harden just inside the halfcourt line, the Rockets weren’t able to consistently take advantage of the resulting four-on-three scenarios.

Excluding Harden, who had 24 points on 50% shooting from the field and 60% shooting (6-of-10) on three-pointers, other Rockets made just 10 of 41 long-range attempts (24.4%) despite many of those being wide open.

Excluding Danuel House Jr., who made 5 of his 12 three-point attempts (41.7%), other Rockets connected on just 5-of-29 (17.2%) shots from long range. Russell Westbrook led Houston in scoring with 30 points, but it came on 32 shots and an 0-of-8 showing from behind the three-point arc. Austin Rivers and Ben McLemore combined for just three makes from deep in 14 attempts (21.4%) off the bench.

Harden led the Rockets with 11 assists, but it could have been much more, had his teammates made those open shots.

Houston’s defense (or lack thereof) was also a story, with the Rockets allowing 24 points in the final five minutes of the second quarter after taking the aforementioned 53-40 lead.

Despite having Harden and Westbrook, the Warriors shot 12 more free throws for the game than the Rockets — in large part due to uninspired defense. Of those 28 total free throws, 10 came from Damion Lee, who led Golden State with 22 points and 15 rebounds.

Overall, the Rockets are now 8-4 in December. But it’s a month that the team may eventually remember for missed opportunities. Though they’ve had high-profile road wins against the likes of the Los Angeles Clippers (22-10) and defending NBA champion Toronto Raptors (21-10), their four losses have come to the Warriors, San Antonio Spurs, Detroit Pistons, and Sacramento Kings. All of those teams are at least five games below .500.

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James Harden, Russell Westbrook score 77 as Rockets scorch Suns

Led by a combined 77 points from James Harden and Russell Westbrook, the Rockets (20-9) shot nearly 60% as a team in a big win at Phoenix.

Houston stars James Harden and Russell Westbrook combined for 77 points and 17 assists as the Rockets overwhelmed the Suns with a barrage of threes in Saturday’s 139-125 win (box score) at Phoenix.

The Rockets hit 19-of-41 three-pointers (46.3%) as a team, while the Suns made just 8-of-28, or 28.6%. That 33-point math advantage proved impossible for the Suns (11-18) to overcome in their sixth straight loss.

Harden had nearly half of those three-pointers with nine in 19 attempts (47.4%), leading the Rockets (20-9) to a third straight win and their ninth in the past 12 games. The NBA’s 2018 MVP connected on 15-of-27 shots (55.6%) overall, and he also added seven assists and six rebounds.

The Suns cut the margin as close as eight points in the fourth quarter, but Harden had a breathtaking stretch with 10 points in just 92 seconds midway through the final period as the Rockets broke the game wide open. Houston led for the entire second half.

Meanwhile, Westbrook had 30 points and 10 assists on 11-of-21 shooting (52.4%). After not breaking the 30-point barrier in his first 20 games with the Rockets, the 2017 MVP has now done it four times in six games.

Westbrook had issues with a dislocated finger in the 2019-20 preseason, and he said Saturday in his postgame interview with reporters that the improving health of his hand has enabled his recent surge.

Starting center Clint Capela also had a big night for the Rockets with 14 points and 17 rebounds in 36 minutes. Capela made seven of his eight shot attempts, leading Houston’s astonishing 51-of-87 total (58.6%) from the field as a team. Off the bench, reserves Gary Clark and Ben McLemore combined for 17 points on five made three-pointers.

The Suns were led by 26 points from starting small forward Kelly Oubre Jr., who hit 10-of-16 shots (62.5%) from the field.

The Rockets are now 2-0 on their current four-game West Coast road trip, which resumes Monday night with a game at Sacramento (12-17).

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Westbrook, Harden lead biggest comeback win in Rockets history

Led by 59 points from James Harden and Russell Westbrook, the Rockets had a historic comeback from a 25-point deficit to beat the Spurs.

Franchise co-stars Russell Westbrook and James Harden combined for 59 points as the Rockets overcame a 25-point deficit Monday night to defeat their in-state rival San Antonio Spurs, 109-107 (box score).

It’s the largest comeback in a victory in Rockets franchise history. Houston trailed by a 69-44 margin with just 1:30 left until halftime, then finished the game on a 65-38 run over the game’s final 25+ minutes.

After allowing 72 points to the Spurs (10-16) in the first half, the Rockets (18-9) put the clamps on defensively in the second half by holding them to 35 points. Bryn Forbes scored 18 points and hit 6-of-9 three-pointers (66.7%) on the night, but his final attempt rimmed out with 22 seconds left and the Spurs trailing by just one point at the time.

Westbrook scored a game-high 31 points (11-of-25 shooting, 44%) and grabbed 10 rebounds, while Harden had 28 points (10-of-29 shooting, 34.5%), eight rebounds, and seven assists.

The two Houston stars and former MVPs combined for the clinching rebound in the final seconds Monday, when San Antonio’s Derrick White intentionally missed a free throw down two points in hopes of his team getting the offensive rebound and a chance to tie or win.

Westbrook secured the loose ball off White’s miss and fired it straight up into the air to allow time to expire. That sent the crowd at Toyota Center home happy, with Houston securing its largest-ever comeback win.

Rebounding and effort plays were critical to the rally by the Rockets, who scored 109 points despite only shooting 11-of-43 (25.6%) from three-point range. They overcame that poor shooting in large part by grabbing 58 rebounds as a team, led by 15 from Clint Capela, 11 by P.J. Tucker, 10 by Westbrook, and eight from Harden.

Though the Rockets didn’t make many treys by their league-leading standards, several of the ones they did hit were quite timely. Harden hit a step-back three-pointer to tie the game at 97 with 5:36 left, and Tucker and Ben McLemore each drilled go-ahead threes on consecutive possessions in the final three-and-a-half minutes.

The Tucker three came off an assist from Capela, who tied his career high with five on the night. The big man also scored 15 points on 77.8% shooting in a team-high 40 minutes, showing how far he’s come in recent seasons at improving his stamina. Before last year, Capela hadn’t averaged 30 minutes per game in any of his first four NBA seasons.

McLemore was one of Houston’s lone bright spots from a shooting perspective, scoring 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting (54.5%) and 4-of-9 (44.4%) on three-pointers. His four three-point makes tied Harden for the team lead, though Harden was much less efficient with 13 attempts.

Harden did make a bit of history with his seven assists, which tied Hall of Famer Calvin Murphy for the team’s all-time assists lead at 4,402.

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The Spurs were led by seven-time All-Star big man LaMarcus Aldridge, who had team highs with 19 points and 13 rebounds.

The comeback felt like fitting revenge for the Rockets, who blew a 22-point lead earlier this month in San Antonio in a game remembered most for the Harden dunk that wasn’t counted. Houston protested that game, though the NBA ultimately denied it.

This time, Harden had a key dunk in the fourth quarter that did count.

The Rockets now have two straight off days before beginning a four-game West Coast road trip in Los Angeles against Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and the star-studded Clippers (20-8). The Rockets and Clippers split a pair of games in November, with the home team winning both.

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Ben McLemore’s shooting, minutes trending up for Rockets

Ben McLemore is shooting 45.5% on three-pointers over his past eight games, during which the Rockets have gone 6-2 and could easily be 8-0.

No matter the result, Ben McLemore has kept shooting. That strategy is currently paying off for the Houston Rockets.

Now 26 years old, the former 2013 NBA Draft lottery selection out of Kansas is reviving his NBA career. After scoring 18 points on 6-of-7 shooting (85.7%) in Friday’s win at Orlando, McLemore now leads the entire league among qualified players with a 121.3 offensive rating.

Playing alongside stars such as James Harden and Russell Westbrook certainly helps on many metrics, and the attention drawn by those two has clearly gotten the 6-foot-3 guard many open looks.

But McLemore also doing a much better job at the moment of converting those opportunities. Over Houston’s first 17 games this season, McLemore shot just 29.6% on three-pointers and averaged just 7.3 points. By contrast, over the eight games since, he’s at 45.5% from three-point range and 16.6 points per game overall.

“This is a team where they let me shoot my shots and play free, and let me play my game,” McLemore said after Friday’s victory in Orlando.

McLemore has shot 47.2% from three-point range over his last four games off the Houston bench, quieting concerns about early-season splits that showed him shooting worse as a reserve. The Rockets prefer to start Danuel House Jr. at small forward for defensive reasons, since he’s longer at 6-foot-6 and more versatile.

Entering the 2019-20 season, McLemore was largely seen as a bust ⁠— at least relative to his draft position ⁠— after his first six NBA seasons with the Sacramento Kings and Memphis Grizzlies. But this is the first time in his career that he’s been with a contender, and he’s currently fitting in quite well as a role player around Harden and Westbrook.

The Rockets are 6-2 over McLemore’s torrid eight-game stretch, and they could easily be 8-0 if not for the protested double-overtime loss in San Antonio (with Harden’s made fourth-quarter dunk not counting) and a Dec. 9 loss to the Kings on Nemanja Bjelica’s last-second buzzer-beater from nearly 35 feet away from the basket.

In that Kings loss, McLemore even showed a flair for the dramatic with a go-ahead three-pointer in the final 20 seconds.

 

Even with those two near-misses, that .750 winning percentage by the Rockets over McLemore’s current hot stretch would be on pace for nearly 62 wins over a full 82-game season.

Besides the benefits of playing for a contender, McLemore has also proven to be an ideal fit for the three-point-heavy style of head coach Mike D’Antoni and GM Daryl Morey in Houston.

For the season overall, 7.0 of McLemore’s 8.1 average field-goal attempts per game are from three-point range. That 86.4% clip is historically high, and he still hasn’t taken a single mid-range shot all year.

That type of shot chart, combined with his recent uptick in efficiency, is a big part of why McLemore’s minutes per game have steadily risen from 7.3 in October to 24.5 in November and now 29.8 in December.

McLemore and the Rockets (17-8) will look to keep their current run going when the Detroit Pistons (10-15) visit Houston on Saturday night.

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James Harden makes more history as Rockets rout Orlando

James Harden scored 54 points and again tied the franchise record with 10 made three-pointers in Houston’s blowout win Friday at Orlando.

James Harden scored 54 points on extremely efficient shooting and made all sorts of history in a dominant 130-107 road victory (box score) by the Houston Rockets on Friday against the Orlando Magic.

Harden made 10 three-pointers for a second consecutive game, with both tying the all-time Rockets record for made treys in a single game. He’s just the second player in NBA history to make 10 or more three-pointers in two straight games, joining Golden State’s Stephen Curry.

Friday’s win is the sixth in eight games for the Rockets (17-8), who are now six games better at the 25-game mark than they were in the 2018-19 season at 11-14. Orlando fell to 11-14 this season with the loss.

Between Wednesday’s win at Cleveland and Friday’s victory in Orlando, Harden has combined for 109 points in his last two games on better than 60% shooting from the field and from three-point range. In those wins, the NBA’s leading scorer has averaged just 5.5 free throw attempts per game — reflecting the diversity of his scoring prowess.

On top of his scoring, Harden made key plays defensively with three blocks and two steals — including multiple sequences late in the game where he followed up a takeaway with a bucket on the other end.

Russell Westbrook continued his recent hot stretch with 23 points on 50% shooting, along with seven rebounds and six assists. Ben McLemore had 18 points on 6-of-7 shooting (85.7%) on three-pointers, while P.J. Tucker and Clint Capela each had a team-high 11 rebounds.

Harden also contributed as a facilitator with a team-high seven assists, including this one on a McLemore trey in the fourth quarter.

The Magic were led by 27 points from guard Evan Fournier, who made six three-pointers of his own on 11 attempts.

The Rockets return to play Saturday night at home in Houston against the Detroit Pistons (10-15), with Westbrook likely unavailable due to planned maintenance on the second half of a back-to-back sequence of games.

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Big nights by Westbrook, Tucker for naught as Kings beat buzzer

Russell Westbrook and P.J. Tucker had huge nights, but the Kings stunned the Rockets on a Nemanja Bjelica three-pointer at the buzzer.

Russell Westbrook had a season-high 34 points and P.J. Tucker a career-best 19 rebounds, but the Houston Rockets (15-8) wasted those performances in a 119-118 home loss Monday to the Kings (10-13).

The Rockets took a 118-116 lead with just one second left to play on a Westbrook layup, but Sacramento’s Nemanja Bjelica took advantage of a blown coverage to hit a three-pointer at the buzzer for the final margin.

Buddy Hield led the Kings with 26 points and six made three-pointers, including one with under 10 seconds left to tie the game after Ben McLemore had briefly given the Rockets a three-point lead at 116-113.

Both teams combined for four tying or go-ahead shots in the final 20 seconds, punctuated by Bjelica’s game-winner.

After the game, head coach Mike D’Antoni appeared quite subdued and blamed his defense for the game’s final shot.

Tucker and Clint Capela (13 points, 17 rebounds) combined for 36 rebounds between them, leading Houston to a 51-37 edge on the glass. However, the Kings made up for that with an unusual 20-17 advantage against the always three-point-happy Rockets in made three-pointers — including the last two buckets in the final 10 seconds.

The loss marred what was undoubtedly Westbrook’s finest night yet with the Rockets, with his 34 points coming on 13-of-17 shooting (76.5%) from the field and 2-of-4 (50%) from behind the three-point arc. He also had eight assists in his 36 minutes (box score).

Backcourt mate James Harden had an uncharacteristically inefficient night with 27 points on 8-of-19 shooting (42.1%) and eight turnovers, though he did have two made three-pointers wiped off the board late in the third quarter on controversial replay decisions.

Coming off a brutal loss, Houston hits the road for a two-game road trip at Cleveland (5-18) and Orlando (11-12) on Wednesday and Friday.

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Mike D’Antoni laughs at concerns over Ben McLemore’s bench splits

Houston isn’t concerned by numbers showing Ben McLemore as worse off the bench, and his big game Saturday as a reserve proved them right.

Houston Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni never seemed bothered by early-season shooting splits showing Ben McLemore as a worse shooter when coming off the bench. Saturday’s win over Phoenix would appear to be strong evidence that he was right in his lack of concern.

In 30 minutes off the bench, McLemore made 10-of-15 shots (66.7%) from the field against the Suns, including 5-of-9 (55.6%) behind the three-point arc. His total of 27 points was just one shy of his season high, which he set Thursday with 28 points in a start at Toronto.

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Unlike Thursday, though, Saturday’s game had Danuel House Jr. back in the starting lineup at small forward, now that he’s almost fully recovered from his recent illness. At 6-foot-6, House is three inches taller than McLemore and offers the Rockets more length and versatility on defense. In turn, that swap pushed McLemore back to his usual bench role.

When asked postgame Saturday whether it was reassuring to see McLemore succeed off the bench, D’Antoni chuckled and said it wasn’t, because he never put much stock into those numbers to begin with.

No, because it’s only you guys [reporters] that thought he had to start. He’s fine. He might go back. He might start and not have a good game. He said it doesn’t matter, and he’s a pretty honest guy.

I’m glad he did [shoot well off the bench], just to quiet it all down now. We’re all good.

Last week, Rockets GM Daryl Morey was similarly dismissive of McLemore’s early-season shooting splits in his responses to a series of tweets showing the discrepancy.

By the numbers, the splits issue isn’t totally gone. Even with Saturday’s big game off the bench, McLemore is still shooting 34.1% overall and 28.8% on three-pointers as a reserve during the 2019-20 season — as compared to 47.1% and 41.3% as a starter. But at 22 games, it’s certainly a small sample and not all that statistically significant.

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For his part, McLemore said postgame that his job doesn’t change, whether he’s starting or coming off the bench. When asked if there’s a difference in starting or playing as a reserve, the 26-year-old said:

Of course, but my job is to still go out there and do what I’m supposed to do and that’s guard, run the floor, knock down open shots, and defend.

After signing with the Rockets in the offseason, the former 2013 NBA Draft lottery pick also credited his new teammates with helping to build his confidence — which may have been shaken at times during six up-and-down seasons on losing teams in Sacramento and Memphis.

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McLemore will face off against his former Sacramento team on Monday night when the Rockets (15-7) wrap up a two-game homestand at Toyota Center against the Kings (8-13). With House healthy, McLemore will almost certainly come off the bench again in that game.

But if Saturday’s performance is any indication, that’s not something that the Rockets or McLemore are at all concerned about moving forward.