The Houston Rockets made it clear that they’d be leaning into this small-ball lineup thing about a month ago after Clint Capela got hurt.
They beat the Mavericks using the smallest lineup ever trotted out on a basketball floor with not a single player over 6-foot-6 touching the court and they were promptly roasted by NBA experts and fans alike.
We heard it all. Tweets were flying. Everything from “how are they going to grab a single rebound” to “oh, Anthony Davis is going to WAX these dudes in the playoffs” was on the table. I was one of those people.
Now, I’d like to use this platform to promptly eat some crow with a touch of mumbo sauce on the side if possible.
Houston’s strategy is actually working! The Rockets’ ultra-small lineups haven’t just been good — they’ve been dominant. They’re 8-2 in their last 10 games when playing this small-ball lineup and are 5-1 against playoff teams in that span. They’ve played against the likes of Anthony Davis, Rudy Gobert and Kristaps Porzingis and have still come out with wins driven by their 116.6 offensive rating over the last 10 games.
They’ve shown is this can work. Why? Because nobody really knows how to guard them.
The Rockets are trotting out lineups with five shooters who are all perimeter players and that means there’s literally always a ton of space for them to attack in the paint.
Like, what are you really supposed to do here? James Harden gets a smaller guard on him and starts to drive right to the rim. You come over and help? Boom. Lob.
It's beautiful seeing Rockets players cut more often now that the paint is wide open. pic.twitter.com/FxQMuBH6Iw
— Disney Gary Clark (@Itamar1710) February 25, 2020
That paint looks like it has as much space as the sky at night.
That’s an easy cut for Ben McLemore and an easy pass for Harden with pretty much no good help on the floor. You’d think that changes with a real big man on the floor, right?
NOPE. They did it over Rudy Gobert, too.
I have no clue what you’re supposed to do with James Harden coming at you in an empty paint with a cutter on the way. Apparently, neither does the reigning defensive player of the year.
There are still legitimate questions about how the Rockets will fare over a 7 game series against, say, a Nikola Jokic or an Anthony Davis. At the end of the day, height is height. And that’s much of what basketball comes down to.
But it’s time to stop doubting whether this formula is the right one for the Rockets or not. It works — for now, at least.
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