As it is by now no secret, I enjoy watching Steven Adams play (also, his dog is cute) but that will not spare him from this article. With his production and injury, Adams, in retrospect, turned out to be one of the most important players for the Rockets this season, but unfortunately, on January 18, he suffered an ankle injury, and just 10 days later, it was announced that he would miss the entire season after surgery. After his injury, the Rockets were left with only Jeff Green and Clint Capela
in the backup center’s arsenal.
In the offensive department, he enabled the Rockets, especially in offensive rebounding, since, outside of Kevin Durant, most of the players struggled with shooting, and sometimes it turned out that the best offensive play was to hope that the balls were repelled and the rebound was returned by Adams to another Rocket. As a result of all this, according to StatMuse, the Rockets had a strong net rating with their old man in the lineup. However, their great achievement also extended beyond the box score, as he was able to create second chance opportunities with elite offensive rebounding, protect the paint and be the tough guy on the court, which are not awlays fully calculated in a score.
Defensively, Adams helped make the game easier for Houston’s younger players. He played quarterback on the floor, always talking coverages and getting teammates in the right places. His ability to protect the post without having a ton of help defense gave Amen Thompson and Jabari Smith Jr. the freedom to play more aggressively on the perimeter. That defense was a huge reason Houston ascended the standings early in the year.
Perhaps the most overlooked aspect of Adams’ season was his chemistry with Alperen Sengun. On paper, many fans and media members wondered if two classic big men could prosper together in today’s NBA. The pairing often worked because the two players complemented each other’s skill sets. Adams focused on rebounding, screening and interior defense, while Şengün handled playmaking and scoring. The “double big” lineups in Houston physically wore out smaller teams and helped dictate the tempo of games. Houston was able to run some double big lineups with Clint Capela and Sengun, but those lineups were not as effective since truly nobody could replace Big Kiwi.
If you were to ask me for a grade for Adams’s season I would either lean a C, or incomplete since we only saw Adams be avalaible for 40 of the 82 games during the regular season. It was clear Houston missed him when he was off the court, but Adams needs to work on staying healthy, as the ankle is his second season injury in the past five years.
Houston Rockets post season reviews will continue on with Fred Vanvleet and Reed Sheppard, so be sure to check pack at The Dream Shake for most season reviews.
