In case you’ve been under a rock, the Houston Rockets have a dire need for a backup big man. The team signed Jock Landale in the offseason to alleviate this need and he’s simply not amounted to much of anything.
To the point that he’s been removed from Ime Udoka’s rotation, in favor of Jeff Green, who has surprisingly played stellar for the franchise. This likely won’t continue throughout the remainder of the season, as 37-year-old role players don’t generally morph into formidable contributors.
Fortunately for the Rockets, they don’t have to rely on Green to fill this vacuum, as the Boston Celtics made their lives much easier with their newest roster move on Tuesday.
Nathan Knight has been released.
December 12, 2023 — Boston Celtics (@celtics)
Nathan Knight, at 6’8 and 253 pounds, would add much-needed size to a very tiny Rockets squad. Granted, I understand if there are concerns about his size, as the Rockets have done the tweener thing before (Bruno Fernando, Daniel Theis, and even PJ Tucker a few years ago).
However, Jeff Green has shown that a diminutive ball centre may thrive.
The Rockets should move swiftly to shore up their biggest need.
The 26-year-old Knight presents versatility to play either power forward or center, but would likely play center for the Rockets.
Perhaps you’d like to know why he’s played for four different teams in four seasons. Knight was a decent player in Atlanta. In his second game, he had 14 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field, 2-of-3 from long range, and three rebounds in 8 minutes. He just didn’t get much of a chance (not even a minute a game in the next five games).
Knight appeared in three more games for the Hawks, earning valuable playing time (at least 20 minutes). The end result?
With two games versus the Rockets, he averaged 14.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 65.2 percent shooting.
Knight went to the Minnesota Timberwolves and failed to land a significant role. However, he made enough of an impression for the Wolves to bring him back for a second engagement in 2022-23, as he averaged 18.6 points, 11.5 rebounds, and three assists per 36 minutes.
However, he found himself buried behind Karl-Anthony Towns, Rudy Gobert, Naz Reid, Matt Ryan, and Luka Garza.
When he was granted playing time he made 56.8 percent of his shots, 36.4 percent of his threes (on a very small sample size of .6 attempts per contest).
All told, he still averaged 17.2 points and 6.9 rebounds per 36 minutes.
When Knight was afforded the opportunity (20 minutes or more), he averaged 14.3 points and 61.9 percent from the floor (3 games).
In the 10 games in which he played 10 or more minutes, he averaged 8.6 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.1 assists.
Knight brings and infectious level of energy and a scrappy level of play, which has especially been useful on the offensive glass (3.5 offensive rebounds per 36 minutes throughout his career).
For a Rockets team in need of a backup big, it would be wise to take a flier on Knight, who simply hasn’t had the opportunity to develop.
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