International Corridor - Houston's Big Men

[Mr. E]

The role of the Big Man in Houston's system is often overlooked and underappreciated by those who do not follow this team. If you look at a standard Houston shot chart from last season (I would post one, but my current image host is being an a-hole) then you see the expected long bombs from the 3-point line.

Everything else (with the occasional outlying mid-range 2) is in the paint. Many of those shots come from guys like Harden, Ariza & Gordon driving to the basket; but many more come from the Big Men who finish in the paint. The guys are constantly fed some beautiful passes on the inside and that consistency helps to keep the rest of the defense honest in terms of guarding the 3-point line too closely.

Houston definitely has an international flavor to their Big Man lineup this year.

Clint Capela - Switzerland (my people!)
Nene - Brazil
Zhou Qi - China
Tarik Black / Ryan Anderson / Chinanu Onuaku - United States

The Rockets are just lacking a native African and Australian to complete a tour of the Earth's Continents.

I am assuming that none of the penguins of Antarctica are ready to make the leap to the NBA yet.


Maybe there is not a superstar in the middle for Houston, but the team has quietly put together a solid Big Man rotation for the 4 & 5.