The Thanksgiving mark of the NBA season presents an array of thoughts. On the one hand, it’s still far too early in the season to concoct long-term takeaways.
In fact, the season isn’t even a quarter of the way complete. But even if it was, that’s still much too early to draw a long-term synopsis.
Take the Houston Rockets, for example. They will have only played 16 games.
Then again, the Rockets’ approach will continue to be their season-long gameplan. Grab offensive rebounds for second-chance scoring opportunities.
To the tune of 40 percent, which is astoundingly high.
That will remain, by design. Hence the calculus of having three centers on the roster.
Most teams don’t quite have that luxury. But then again, teams don’t play two centers at the same time.
According to Law Murray of The Athletic, however, the Rockets need not be thankful for any of their three centers this Thanksgiving.
Rather, they should instead be thankful for wing Josh Okogie.
“Okogie wasn’t exactly a priority free agent after being waived by the Charlotte Hornets in July. However, the Rockets signed Okogie to a minimum contract and have played him 20 minutes per game, starting him 10 times. He has given the Rockets a 3-and-D rotation player, and while the defense part of that equation isn’t surprising, the shooting is. Okogie is a career 30.5 percent 3-point shooter, but he has hit 42.9 percent of his career-high 3.0 attempts to begin this season.”
Murray also listed the Rockets as the NBA’s fourth-best team for the second week in the row.
Regarding Okogie, he’s far outplayed expectations, probably even for himself.
He was quite literally the last player signed to the roster in the offseason yet he’s become a starter on a legitimate playoff team (the Rockets rank fourth in the Western Conference as of this writing).
Okogie plays his role to perfection. He doesn’t hunt for shots.
He plays within the flow of the offense. He plays defense and is willing to make the extra pass and do the dirty work.
He even sets screens.
And he doesn’t hesitate to shoot from three when he’s open. Again, he’s been the perfect role player. The fact that the Rockets were able to get him on the vet minimum is legitimately a bargain.
The Rockets take on the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday evening at 9 p.m. CT in NBA Cup play.
