The Houston Rockets will be without one of their most important defenders when the NBA Playoffs begin this week. Luc Mbah a Moute will likely miss his team’s first-round playoff series and possibly more time after suffering a dislocated shoulder Tuesday night against the Lakers.
Luc Mbah a Moute likely to miss Rockets’ opening playoff series with dislocated shoulder
Houston will be without its defensive Swiss Army Knife early in the postseason.
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Though Mbah a Moute only made 16 starts this winter and had scored just 7.5 points per game, he’s a valuable and versatile piece who can hassle opponents at shooting guard, small forward, or power forward depending on the lineup. He’s also added an improved three-point shot at age 31, making a career-high 63 buckets from long range in 2017-18 at a respectable 36.4 percent clip.
SB Nation’s Rockets site The Dream Shake sums up his impact:
When Mbah a Moute is on the court, the Rockets have a defensive rating of 104.3, and when he is off the court, the team has a defensive rating of 108.8. Although the offense slips with him on the floor, it is still at a very high rating.
Usually with Mbah a Moute on the floor, he has the ability to guard 1-5, something that P.J. Tucker and Trevor Ariza can do as well. However, what separates him from the other two is the fact that he can drive to the cup better than Tucker and Ariza can. Both of them usually find their corner three, which Mbah a Moute does amazingly well too, but Mbah a Moute can pumpfake and drive baseline as well.
When Mbah a Moute is on the floor, the Rockets can switch everything. Without him on the floor, that job becomes a little harder because the team does not have a guy that mirrors Mbah a Moute’s length with his quickness quite like he does. Ariza is the closest thing to him but Mbah a Moute was strongest when coming off the bench for Ariza.
Losing Mbah a Moute won’t sink the Rockets, but the versatile forward provided more value than his stats suggest. Head coach Mike D’Antoni will have to get a bit more creative with his lineups this postseason with both Mbah a Moute and Ryan Anderson dealing with injuries.
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