The Houston Rockets second iteration of the Victor Oladipo trade was far more intriguing than the original trade back in 2021. At that time, the franchise was desperate to reach postseason play, after trading away their All-NBA backcourt of James Harden and Russell Westbrook.
The team hoped Oladipo and John Wall could rewind the hands of time and resort back to the pre-injury version of themselves.
Unsurprisingly, that failed.
(Although Oladipo would surely like to have that $45 million offer back on the
table).
The second deal from 2023 was merely a means of turning embattled point guard Kevin Porter Jr. into something useful. Salary retention is oftentimes the key to adding solid role players.
(And second-round draft picks).
The Rockets ultimately used Oladipo’s $9.5 million expiring salary to land Steven Adams, who was injured for the season at the time. Questions arose regarding what version of a player Adams would be upon his return in 2024-25.
Adams needed some time to ramp up, which is normal after knee surgery. However, he started playing 20+ minutes at the 47 game mark — a little more than halfway through the season.
He began absolutely eating on the offensive glass, with five games of at seven offensive boards. Rockets coach Ime Udoka, who hasn’t necessarily always trotted out the best rotations, began to play the double-big lineup with both Alperen Sengun and Adams on the floor at the same time.
The Rockets led the league in offensive rebounds and total rebounds last season. In their postseason series against the Golden State Warriors, Houston also won the rebounding edge.
This became a great way to overcompensate for Houston’s middle of the pack offense, because they were getting extra possessions and additional opportunities to score.
Adams averaged 5.7 points, 6.6 rebounds, 3.3 offensive rebounds, and 60 percent from the floor during the series, despite playing just 22.1 minutes on average per night. His stats for the season were similar — 3.9 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.9 offensive rebounds, 54.5 percent from the field.
The Rockets gave Adams a long-term deal, agreeing to terms on a $39 million contract over three years during the offseason.
Which made it surprising when Houston signed Clint Capela, who starred for the franchise much earlier in his career, during the James Harden era.
However, it was further proof of Rockets coach Ime Udoka leaning in on the “Jumbo” lineup. He explained during Media Day that it was all about allowing Adams a night off for occasional rest, while still trotting out two serviceable bigs, in Capela and Sengun.
Throughout the preseason, we’ve seen success yet again with the lineup. Sengun’s skillset allows it to work, as we’ve seen him operating as the offensive fulcrum and dish passes to Capela around the rim for easy, high-percentage looks.
Jabari Smith has also been a beneficiary of the lineup, playing at small forward and taking advantage of smaller wings that have been switched onto him — cutting to the hoop easily and making life easy for Durant and Sengun as facilitators.
Smith had 26 points and had easy scoring opportunities from the charity stripe — going 8-for-8.
Sengun had seven assists. To that point, Sengun has averaged 8.3 assists through the preseason thus far, constantly making the right reads.
Throughout the first three preseason games, the Rockets have ranked fourth in offensive rebounds — 15.7 per game — and sixth in total rebounds at 50 per game. The double-big lineup gives players confidence to shoot from deep, knowing there’s a high likelihood of a second-chance scoring opportunity.
In other words, the jumbo lineup is here to stay. So much that it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Adams announced as the Rockets’ fifth starter.
