For whatever reason, former Louisville Cardinals standout Montrezl Harrell fell to the second round of the 2015 NBA Draft to the Houston Rockets. Harrell has been a solid rotation player for the Rockets the last two seasons.
He plays with a powerful, throwback approach to the four. Harrell doesn’t offer much range as a shooter, but can run the court and attack the rim with great ferocity. He is very important for the Rockets’ playoff aspirations. Harrell gives the pace-and-space Mike D’Antoni offense some much-needed bite in the low post.
Clint Capela is the real deal at center playing alongside Harrell, but won’t be able to go it alone in the ultra-physical NBA Playoffs. Houston can shoot all the 3-pointers it wants to, but should expect to lean more on Harrell come playoff time. If he can rebound, play reasonable defense and score high-percentage shots down low, Harrell will have a roll with the Rockets for a very long time.
It seems that Rockets general manager Daryl Morey knew that he had to create well-defined role for Harrell to succeed with this team. Harrell may never become a decent starter on a good NBA team, but can be a viable seventh or eighth man coming off the bench on a championship caliber one. He’s even shown the ability to spot start on occasion. Harrell’s not a great player, but he’s move valuable than he leads on.