Isaiah Crawford’s suffocating defense and Bruce Thornton’s scoring spark Houston’s hunt for roster depth as prospects navigate a chaotic, high-foul opening weekend of Summer League action.
Should the Houston Rockets sign any of these guys to full-scale contracts?
The Houston Rockets had two Summer League games this weekend to give fans a glimpse at what possible depth pieces could be added to their NBA roster. I initially expected Bruce Thornton, Quadir Copeland, and Isaiah Crawford to be the main focus, as covered on Roundtable, and that was precisely the case.
Crawford’s defense jumped off the screen immediately on the first night, but the whole team was pressuring the ball full-court. His length and activity just stood out to me. He got the first block just a couple of minutes into the game.
He also got a steal leading to an assist on an easy outlet pass. He was able to poke the ball loose again on the very next play, ultimately setting the tone for Friday night. Houston finished with 15 steals and forced the Nuggets to turn the ball over 22 times.
He struggled shooting the ball though, only knocking in one out of his eight attempts. His three for seven performance last night was much better, but still evens out to 33-percent. The next guy shot much better.
It should be no surprise that Bruce Thornton carried the team offensively, scoring 27 points on the first night, and 17 on the second. Despite shooting under 40-percent from the field, he still did look comfortable enough out there.
Making six out of his sixteen threes put him at an above average percentage, and I was happy to see a fair amount of them were off of the catch, rather than a live dribble.
He did have six fouls, though, but thanks to the Summer League limit being set at 10, he wasn’t disqualified. The same can be said about Quadir Copeland, who added another nine fouls to the team’s 36 total on Friday night.
No one ever claimed this was the prettiest basketball in the world, as you can definitely feel the nerves and unfamiliarity. It’s sort of just glorified pickup hoops. Copeland committed another eight fouls on Saturday, for a whopping 17 fouls in just over 24 hours.
He’s really selective with his shots, and was basically the only guy consistently trying to feed the big men in the post. He plays like a true point guard, even though he’s 6’6” tall.
After only two assists and four turnovers in the first game, he had a complete 180 with five assists and no turnovers last night. He’s also knocked in half of his six attempts from deep. Not too shabby for his first NBA minutes.
As previously covered on Roundtable, the Rockets have two or potentially three spots to fill. They will be required to sign or trade for at least one more player to reach the 14 man minimum, though. Will we see any of these guys take that last spot?
