When a team is in the midst of a 15-game winning streak and playing the way the Houston Rockets are, it’s hard to nit-pick about almost anything. Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni, of course, will no doubt find an item or two to address with his team after they had to battle back to defeat the Boston Celtics at home in Saturday night’s playoff-like thriller at Toyota Center.
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But you can rest assured Joe Johnson and his fit on a stacked roster will not be on the list. Johnson and D’Antoni have history, after all, working together earlier in their respective careers in Phoenix.
It also helps that Johnson, at this late-stage of his career, is an absolute perfect fit for the way the Rockets are playing these days. Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle has more:
The Rockets take the second-fewest post-up shots per game (just 1.6) in the NBA, but Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said he would be open to giving Johnson post-up touches.
“Joe can make a lot plays out of there,” D’Antoni said. “I think it will just come naturally. He can put the ball on the floor. He is more of a wing. Ryan is more catch-and-shoot. Joe is more catch and do something with the ball. They play differently, but still fit in our structure.
“That’s part of the process of the next month, trying to figure out exactly how we want to play guys.”
The Rockets go one-on-one more than any other team in the NBA, which should fit well with the skills of a player once known as ‘Iso-Joe.” As quickly as Johnson seemed to fit in, he said he has been getting more accustomed to the Rockets’ style in the past few games.
“I’m only going to get more comfortable as the season goes along,” Johnson said. “It’s just game action, playing, I’ll get familiar with everything. So far, it’s been pretty fun.”
