3 reasons the Houston Rockets should want Tristan Thompson

2. Championship experience

As Tristan Thompson won a championship with the Cavs, he would instantly be one of only two players on the Houston Rockets with championship experience, with Tyson Chandler being the other player. Thompson has played in four NBA Finals series’, which has amounted to 22 championship games.

This is a variable that simply can’t be replaced, and would be a huge boost to the Houston Rockets. Not only does Thompson have championship experience, he also has playoff success, as he has averaged more points during three postseasons than he did during the regular season. The three specific seasons were the 2014-15 season, the 2016-17 season, and the 2017-18 season.

Thompson also played well during the 2016 NBA Finals series against the Golden State Warriors, as he averaged 10.6 points and 10.1 rebounds per game, which made him the Cavs’ fourth-leading scorer and second-leading rebounder during that series.

By comparison, Houston Rockets center Clint Capela has never played in a single NBA Finals game, and has struggled mightily in the postseason, which is when the Houston Rockets have needed him most. Capela has actually scored fewer points during each of the last three postseasons than he did during the regular season, which is yet another disturbing trend.

Part of Capela’s struggles have been against the Golden State Warriors, which is the same team that Thompson and the Cavaliers defeated during the 2015-16 season. Sure the Dubs didn’t have Kevin Durant that year, but the Warriors were the greatest regular season team ever assembled that year, based on their 73-9 record during the 2015-16 season without KD.

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