The Houston Rockets made a bold move when they decided to ship Clint Capela to the Atlanta Hawks in a 4-team involving the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Denver Nuggets, as well. In return for Capela, they received wing forward Robert Covington from Minnesota.
A lot has been said about how the Rockets will move from this point on, as they don’t have a center following Capela’s departure. It’s been revealed that the team isn’t planning to look for a new center and instead will play P.J. Tucker at that position.
To be clear, the Rockets aren't searching for a starting center. They're playing small-ball and rolling with PJ Tucker at the 5. But they need a big to throw at Nikola Jokic, Anthony Davis, etc. in the playoffs. https://t.co/y6d8l9HnWG
— Tim MacMahon (@BannedMacMahon) February 5, 2020
This isn’t new for the Rockets, as playing small-ball is a common thing for them. Yet, not having a big man at all will surely create some troubles for them. To put things into perspective, the Sixers’ shortest player in their starting lineup, Josh Richardson, would be the second tallest man in the Rockets starting five.
To make things worse, in a Sixers-Rockets matchup, Ben Simmons, Tobias Harris, Al Horford, and Joel Embiid are all taller than the Rockets’ tallest starter, newly-acquired Robert Covington.
It remains to be seen how they fare from now on when the competition gets harder. Still, this doesn’t seem to bother the Texans, who seemingly have a plan to try to win the NBA title without a center.
