In the 2019 NBA playoffs, Danuel House Jr. fell out of the rotation for the Houston Rockets. As promised, that’s not happening in 2020.
Now in his second season as a rotation player with the Rockets, the 6-foot-6 forward has actually seen his average minutes increase slightly — from 30.4 per game in the regular season to 31.0 in the playoffs.
In nine playoff games, House is averaging 11.4 points (35.8% on 3-pointers) and 5.8 rebounds per game, and he’s among the most athletic and versatile options for the team’s switch-heavy defense.
In Sunday’s Game 2 of the second-round series versus the top-seeded Los Angeles Lakers, House had 13 points and five rebounds off the bench, and he made 3-of-7 from 3-point range (42.9%).
Danuel House Jr. (11 PTS, 4-4 FGM) with the SMOOTH finish.
📺: ABC pic.twitter.com/qXJKSxQzVo
— NBA (@NBA) September 7, 2020
“I think he’s blossoming into one of the better players in the league,” head coach Mike D’Antoni said of House. “He’s playing a lot of energy, athletically, making great decisions on defense and offense. … There’s no reason why he’s not one of the better players in the league.”
In comments from Monday’s team practice, House said he was “grateful” for that praise. He then took it a step further:
I feel like I’m slept on, heavily. With a pillow and a blanket. … My goal here was to hit the snooze button, and also come here and be prepared. I feel like I play both sides of the ball well. Me being a G League guy, I guess people don’t want to talk about guys like us, unless it’s a huge, huge story.
I feel like I am one of the top two-way players in this league. Just got to continue to show it, and continue to play hard, night in and night out.
Game 3 between the Rockets and Lakers is scheduled for an 8:00 p.m. Central tip-off on Tuesday, with a national TV broadcast on TNT.
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