ADDING DEPTH
Patrick Creighton: Rockets get just what they needed
Feb 13, 2018, 6:32 am
Brandon Wright is exactly what the Rockets needed. NBA.COM
All season, I have held this to be true: After James Harden, Clint Capela is the most indispensable Rocket.
I know, I know. You just want to jump out of your seat and scream at me, “Come on, Creight! Chris Paul? Ever hear of him?” Believe it or not, I have, but I didn’t say who was the bigger name, bigger star, or better player, I said who was the most indispensable. That’s why its been Capela.
It’s Capela because the Rockets haven’t had another player like him. They didn’t have someone with his size and skill set to run the offense the same way when he wasn’t on the floor. The high pick-and-roll with Harden and Capela has become a staple in the Rockets offense. Capela is the team’s best rebounder and only legitimate rim protector. Where Harden and Eric Gordon can compensate for missing Chris Paul for a while, no one on the roster can bring what Capela does on the floor.
Until now.
While most people are excited about the prospect of the Rockets signing Joe Johnson as a free agent, I’m much more excited about the team bringing on Brandan Wright.
The Rockets have needed another big man for a while, but not just any big body. They needed someone athletic, who can finish at the basket, protect the rim, rebound, play defense, and run the floor the way Capela does. A traditional low post big body center doesn’t fit what the Rockets do, especially offensively.
Wright is exactly that kind of athletic big who can run the floor. With a skill set similar to Capela’s, the Rockets no longer need to change their offense when Capela is off the floor.
While miscast in Memphis with the grind-it-out Grizzlies, he’s averaged 5 pts, 3.5 boards and a block in under 14 mins per game this season. Previously, in a more up tempo style in Dallas, he showed more scoring production. With the ball moving skills of Chris Paul and James Harden, it should be expected his point production would improve, but a block a game in under 14 mins? That’s the other rim protector the Rockets needed.
While Joe Johnson is a bigger name and someone Rockets fans are likely more familiar with, Wright could very well be the more important signing.
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Oswald Peraza hit a two-run single in the ninth inning to help the Los Angeles Angels snap a three-game losing skid by beating the Houston Astros 4-1 on Saturday night.
Peraza entered the game as a defensive replacement in the seventh inning and hit a bases-loaded fly ball to deep right field that eluded the outstretched glove of Cam Smith. It was the fourth straight hit off Astros closer Bryan Abreu (3-4), who had not allowed a run in his previous 12 appearances.
The Angels third run of the ninth inning scored when Mike Trout walked with the bases loaded.
Kyle Hendricks allowed one run while scattering seven hits over six innings. He held the Astros to 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position, the one hit coming on Jesús Sánchez’s third-inning infield single that scored Jeremy Peña.
Reid Detmers worked around a leadoff walk to keep the Astros scoreless in the seventh, and José Fermin (3-2) retired the side in order in the eighth before Kenley Jansen worked a scoreless ninth to earn his 24th save.
Houston’s Spencer Arrighetti struck out a season-high eight batters over 6 1/3 innings. The only hit he allowed was Zach Neto’s third-inning solo home run.
Yordan Alvarez had two hits for the Astros, who remained three games ahead of Seattle for first place in the AL West.
Key moment
Peraza’s two-run single to deep right field that broke a 1-1 tie in the ninth.
Key Stat
Opponents were 5 for 44 against Abreu in August before he allowed four straight hits in the ninth.
Up next
Astros RHP Hunter Brown (10-6, 2.37 ERA) faces RHP José Soriano (9-9, 3.85) when the series continues Sunday.