Throughout the Houston Rockets’ franchise history, they have featured some of the best centers in the league. From Elvin Hayes to Moses Malone, of course, the greatest Rocket of all time, Hakeem Olajuwon, Yao Ming, and now Alperen Sengun.
The Rockets during the James Harden era were a team that shot a lot of 3-pointers and relied heavily on their guards, specifically Harden, to drive most of their offense. Over the last two-plus seasons, the Rockets have shifted their team from an outside team to a hard-nosed inside team led by Sengun.
The Rockets have been one of the best rebounding teams in the NBA since Ime Udoka took over before the 2023-24 season, and in fact were the best rebounding team last season and are the best rebounding again this season. The Rockets’ depth at center has been one of their biggest strengths since last season.
The Rockets Have the Best Center Rotation in the NBA
It started when the Rockets took a chance on Steven Adams who they traded for before the 2023 trade deadline. Adams at the time was already ruled out for the season due to injury but the Rockets knew that if Adams could come back healthy he would elevate the Rockets entire team.
That is exactly what happen as Adams was able to come back from his injury and give the Rockets one of if not the best one, two punch in the NBA at center. Adams help the Rockets to their best rebounding season in over fifty years last season as the Rockets dominated the boards especially on the offensive boards.
The Rockets double big lineup was a revelation last season as it helped the Rockets become one of the toughest hard-nosed teams in the NBA because of that lineup. The Rockets decided that still wasn’t enough as they went out and added another quality center to their frontcourt.
The Rockets went out and signed Clint Capela, who started his career in Houston and was coming to the team as the third center. It was a surprise to some that Capela could still start for some teams, but he was willing to go to Houston, knowing he would at times play only a few minutes a game as the third option at center.
Having a player of Capela status as your third center lets the Rockets rest Adams whenever they need to as they did Wednesday night against the Golden State Warriors. Capela showed how valuable he is by pulling down 12 rebounds in only 18 minutes of play as the Rockets
The Rockets are one of the best shooting teams in the NBA this season, which is one of the biggest surprises in the NBA, but the one area they can always depend on, even when shots aren’t falling, is the elite depth at the center position.