Ranking the 4 worst Rockets starters of the James Harden era

1. Ty Lawson

The Rockets acquired Ty Lawson with the expectation that he would be the missing piece. After all, they had two superstars in Dwight Howard and James Harden and made it all the way to the Western Conference Finals in the duo’s second year together.

What was even more encouraging was that the team made it that far in spite of Howard missing half the season.

Lawson seemed to be the floor general that had been missing, especially after finishing third in assists in 2013-14 and 2014-15. All in all, Lawson averaged 17.6 points and 8.8 assists and 15.2 points and 9.6 assists in subsequent seasons.

As a big man, Howard would benefit greatly from having someone to give him touches and Harden would theoretically benefit from having someone who could help him become an off-ball scorer.

Unfortunately, this didn’t end up being Lawson, as the Rockets got a shell of the 27-year-old. Lawson’s averages were wildly disappointing, as he posted averages of 5.8 points and 3.4 assists, while shooting just 38.7 percent from the floor. Lawson only lasted 11 games in the starting rotation.