3 things Jordan Bell could bring to the Houston Rockets

1. Rebounding

One of the biggest contributions Bell brings to the Houston Rockets is his size, which allows him to grab rebounds. At 6-foot-8, Bell would be one of the tallest players on the Rockets, behind only Isaiah Hartenstein and Tyson Chandler, who rarely play.

This means Bell would have the opportunity to operate as the big man when Houston Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni’s employs his small ball lineups. This has been a major challenge with the small ball lineup, as the Rockets have gotten killed on the glass on a nightly basis.

The Rockets have been out-rebounded in each of their last four games, and it hasn’t even been close. In fact, the Rockets have been outrebounded by an average of 15 rebounds per game during that stretch, which can’t continue during the playoffs, or against the bigger teams like the Los Angeles Lakers. The most recent example of this problem was the Rockets home victory over the Charlotte Hornets, as Charlotte had more than twice the number of rebounds as the Rockets at halftime, which was a 20-to-9 disparity.

Bell has averaged 11.9 rebounds per 36 minutes this season, and posted averages of 9.2 boards and 8.4 boards per 36 minutes during each of his first two years in the league. The Rockets are looking to bring in another big, and they’ve got a plethora of options, but having Bell also helps in this department as well. The acquisition of Bell is a timely one, as former Houston Rockets center Clint Capela was responsible for 30 percent of the Rockets rebounds on a nightly basis.