Houston Rockets: Are the Rockets Bench Enough to win Title?

When analyzing a NBA team in its totality, the importance of the bench can’t be overstated. The strongest bench is a collection of imperfect players that play together with perfect synergy and can propel their team to a championship.

The Houston Rockets came into this season with a collection of players with championship aspirations.

As in any NBA season, the rosters are tweaked for various reasons. The Rockets were aware that an upgrade was needed to the bench in order to stay competitive in the Western Conference.

The acquisition of Corey Brewer via a trade, give the Rockets a player that just goes out and plays; He doesn’t need any plays called for him or the ball in his hands to be productive. The second addition was the free agent signing of Josh Smith, who is a multi-talented athlete.

Those two transactions ultimately changed the team chemistry and rekindled the hopes of bringing a title back to “Clutch City”.

Corey Brewer runs around the court like a mad man. It is glorious.

— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) February 28, 2015

A chemical reaction has definitely occurred in Houston, not as in a meltdown but a power plant. Rockets Head Coach; Kevin McHale has seen the energy that his bench has provided. The Rockets are 4-1 since the All-Star break, and the role of the bench have emerged into a unit that ignited the spark. The nucleus of the reserve players is a trio dubbed the “Headband Brothers”, Jason Terry, Corey Brewer, and Josh Smith.

Got that Smoove range. https://t.co/DM4s75CqjJ

— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) February 28, 2015

Jason Terry, a 15-year NBA veteran, is not running on fumes. Nicknamed “The Jet”, he has plenty of jet fuel left in the tank. He was signed in the off-season as a hired gun to hit 3-point shots, and offer veteran leadership.

Corey Brewer is a 6’9″ guard that hustles on both ends of the floor, giving the Rockets massive amounts of energy. “That’s what they brought me here to do, come off the bench and bring energy, I score. I run. I play defense. Whatever it takes to win.” Brewer said. He is great at moving without ball and is often the recipient of easy baskets, via a Josh Smith pass.

“That’s what they brought me here to do, come off the bench and bring energy, I score. I run. I play defense. Whatever it takes to win.” Brewer said

Josh Smith is a 6’9″ forward with unbelievable basketball skills. Smith has the ability to do everything well; he’s very good passer with exceptional vision, solid scorer, good defender and rebounder. Josh has been a great teammate and has helped spark the current four game home win streak.

In the previous five games Brewer and Smith have averaged 26.4 points per game and 11.4 rebounds between them.

The Rockets’ front office is cognizant of how significant a strong bench is to becoming a championship team. Coach McHale was the first two-time winner of the Sixth Man Award, helping the Boston Celtics win three titles in the early ‘80’s as a player. Jason Terry also won the award in 2008-09, and was an intricate part of the Dallas Mavericks Championship Team coming off the bench. James Harden was bestowed the award in 2011 helping the Oklahoma City Thunder reach the NBA Finals.

The Rockets have tons of experience with having the best individual players coming off the bench. But the question is, will that knowledge translate into consistent bench productivity fostering into the ultimate team achievement?

Next: Which top team has the easiest final schedule?

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