Ben McLemore’s stock is rising in preseason for Houston Rockets

The Houston Rockets are currently two games into their preseason and although it has been a short sample size, Ben McLemore has had a promising start.

Against the Shanghai Sharks, the talented shooting guard had had 17 points, with five of his six field goals coming from 3-point range. In Hawaii against the Los Angeles Clippers, McLemore put up another nine points on 3-for-5 shooting, with all three of his field goals came from behind the arc. In the two games combined, McLemore has had an effective field goal percentage of 61.9 percent.

Effective field goal percentage is a better tool than regular field goal percentage because 3-point shots are given extra weight, which provides a more accurate depiction of a player’s impact on a game. With McLemore looking comfortable in his role for Houston and his three-point shot falling at a good clip, his value for the team is rising.

Another important aspect regarding Ben’s outside shooting is that he’s shown an ability to hit the corner three, which could prove pivotal in this particular Rockets squad. With James Harden and Russell Westbrook constantly pushing the tempo and drawing attention, wing players will need to space the floor at all times and should find themselves open from the corner often.

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When it comes to depth at the guard position, Houston is in good shape as they have Eric Gordon, Austin Rivers and Gerald Green to complement their two superstars in Harden and Russ. Even still, there could be room for a player of McLemore’s skillset in certain games or if an injury occurs.

Last season, Houston had injuries plague both Chris Paul and Gordon, so the team knows firsthand that it can never have too much depth.

With the way McLemore has played to this point, he could also see himself directly earning a rotation role rather than needing an injury to see minutes during the season.

Although Gerald Green has also started off the preseason well, he has been known to go through some cold streaks during the season, and having another player who can step into that role and be a knockdown shooter is never a bad thing.

McLemore is only signed to a partially-guaranteed deal, but if he continues to play as he has up to this point over the next four preseason games, he will no doubt be around come Oct. 24 when Houston opens up the regular season against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Ben McLemore is one that Rockets fans should be monitoring closely as the new season quickly approaches.

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