The Houston Rockets made one of the biggest splashes of the trade deadline. Swapping their best big man, Clint Capela, to the Hawks in a 4-team trade that brought Robert Covington to Houston, doubts have begun to surface about the Rockets’ potential in the postseason.
How can they beat the likes of the Lakers, Nuggets, and Jazz with P.J. Tucker playing the five? These types of questions and doubts have become the story for the Rockets, even after their statement victory over the Lakers on Thursday.
But, according to Daryl Morey, they’re better off without a man in the middle.
“Pretty straight forward. The best way to play with our stars that we feel is the one that gives us the best chance to win the championship is with a stretch four, playing up-tempo, shooting and wing defenders,” Rockets general manager Daryl Morey said. “Robert Covington was for sure the best one available.”
The tallest player in their starting lineup is 6’7″ Covington, followed by 6’5″ Tucker, who is playing the five. The Rockets have officially gone all-in on their small-ball strategy and they plan to win a Championship without a true starting center.
Daryl Morey believes in this game-plan and is obviously willing to extreme methods in order to see it through. We will see how it works out for them in the end…
