A cliché is an overused expression or idea that has lost its originality and impact, while a truism is a statement that is so obviously and self-evidently true that it offers little to no new insight.
Both are pithy, ultimately pointless things to say that we say anyway because something has to be said. There’s a saying in sports: Availability is the best ability.
That’s more of a truism.
Which brings me to the Houston Rockets’ Steven Adams. As of this writing, the Rockets have a rematch with the Atlanta
Hawks this evening. Adams is not expected to suit up, which brings him to one game played out of four this season so far.
That’s a problem.
Rockets can’t rely on Steven Adams
Yes, it’s likely that Ime Udoka is intentionally giving Adams some early-season rest. This may not be a massive problem. The team is (again, as of this writing) undefeated.
Only Adams managed just 32 games last year. He played 58 in his 2024-25 debut season with the Rockets, but the year before that he played 0, and 42 in 2022-23.
Durability has been an issue for Adams since that 2022 injury. It’s been four consecutive seasons now. It’s probably fair to drop the caveat:
Durability has been an issue for Adams.
This is a player who’s meant to be integral to the Rockets’ identity. Preserving his body for the playoffs is smart, but this is still an amber alert.
What do the Rockets do if Adams can’t get on the floor?
Rockets must explore long-term backup big man options
Here’s a simple, elegant solution:
Play Oscar Tshiebwe.
Last season, Adams had an 18.9% offensive rebounding percentage (via NBA.com, because there’s a discrepancy on Basketball Reference, and that bothers me). That was third in the NBA. Tshiebwe’s 15.1% mark ranked 8th. That’s a gap, but it’s not a gulf.
We shouldn’t reduce the entire secondary big man’s role to offensive rebounding. At the same time…it’s a pretty large percentage of the role for these Rockets. If we made a pie chart, it’d be one of those pie charts where over half is one color, and then the rest of the pie is divided between a bunch of other variables.
Adams isn’t an especially good defender. He’s a poor offensive player. Yet, he’s managed to be an incredibly impactful NBA player by being the best in the league at two things for a long time: Offensive rebounding and screening.
Tshiebwe can approximate Adams’ offensive rebounding. I’d be lying if I said I could recall an Oscar Tshiebwe screen off the top of my head, but he’s said to be good there too. He won’t be Adams – nobody will – but he’s probably as close as we’ll get.
This is not a big deal. So far, it’s been an odd start for the Rockets. The team is 3-0, and they aren’t leaning on the extra possession philosophy as they have in years past. The team’s 34.3% Offensive Rebounding percentage is just ninth in the league. The Rockets are winning basketball games by doing good basketball stuff.
So imagine how dominant they’d be if they were controlling the offensive glass again.
What’s being suggested here is that getting Tshiebwe on the floor is a way for the Rockets to preserve that identity for the next half-decade. He may not play well, but at least then the team would know.
Otherwise, relying on Capela for the rest of the year is…fine. He’s got a sterling 22.2% offensive rebounding percentage as well, but he’s only playing 9.4 minutes per game. Capela has become a subpar defender, which limits his value.
Maybe Udoka is done with the double-big lineups. That’s fine, but they still need a reliable backup big. If it isn’t Tshiebwe, that’s fine, but they need to have targets circled in the 2027 NBA Draft.
By now, it seems clear that it won’t be Steven Adams for much longer.
