Fansided

Rockets’ NBA Draft moves make them legitimate threat to Warriors in the West

By Jack Crosby

Jun 25, 2015; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Sam Dekker (Wisconsin) greets NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected as the number eighteen overall pick to the Houston Rockets in the first round of the 2015 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 25, 2015; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Sam Dekker (Wisconsin) greets NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected as the number eighteen overall pick to the Houston Rockets in the first round of the 2015 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /
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The draft by the Houston Rockets on Thursday night now have them staring a hole right through the Golden State Warriors

Next: Best Player From Every NBA Draft in Lottery Era

This past season the Houston Rockets were undoubtedly one of the best teams in the Western Conference. They made it all the way to the Western Conference Finals, however, at that point they ran into the buzzsaw known as the Golden State Warriors. While the Rockets were able to come away with one game, they just didn’t have enough in the tank to contend with the eventual NBA Champions.

But, after the moves the Rockets made in the 2015 NBA Draft, they might have refueled that tank just enough to have the Warriors worried about their position atop the Western Conference.

To start the night, the Rockets chose former Wisconsin star Sam Dekker with the No. 18 overall pick. Now coming into the draft, not many people saw Dekker as a lottery pick that you look to center your team around for years to come, but with that being the case, he ended up falling into the perfect situation on a contending team.

Dekker brings an attack mentality to the Rockets that they can use to end up claiming the Western Conference next season. During his three-year career at Wisconsin, Dekker averaged 12.1 points per game, but as we saw on numerous occasions, he can get streaky at any moment and kill you with his scoring from the perimeter. Now, when the Warriors want to get into one of their shooting sprees, Dekker is there to lend some help to James Harden. As we saw in the NCAA Tournament the past two years, when you put the pressure of the big stage on Dekker, that’s when he looks to drive that dagger into you with his scoring ability. This young man could wind up being a dream come true in regards to someone Harden wants to be on the court with when it matters most.

Then, with the No. 32 overall pick, the Rockets chose power forward Montrezl Harrell out of Louisville. With many pegging Harrell to be gone in the first round, the Rockets more or less stole themselves a hit man down low to go along with Dwight Howard.

In three years at Louisville, Harrell averaged 11.6 points per game with 6.9 rebounds, but what he brings to the Rockets is a hard-nosed mentality down low that, let’s face it, Dwight Howard doesn’t really show off all that much these days. Harrell won’t win a scoring title soon, but he’ll bring a toughness down low that could cause some serious problems for the Warriors. Should Draymond Green return to Golden State, this young man could end up giving him some fits in the paint.

Will Dekker and Harrell be All-Stars in 2016? Probably not; they might not even start. But with the attributes they’re bringing to the table in Houston, they could end up providing for this team when it matters most and help them grab the Larry O’Brien trophy that narrowly eluded them this past season.

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