Houston Rockets: Sam Dekker Has Found His Rhythm This Season
Sam Dekker has become the unexpected offensive force off the bench for the Houston Rockets this season. He has improved significantly from last season.
Last season, Sam Dekker was just a rookie who did not get any playing time. He did not have a huge presence on the court when he was out there, and he did not have much of a role on the team. Drafted as the 18th overall pick in the 2015 by the Houston Rockets, his abilities were not well showcased in his first season.
Dekker played in the Rockets’ preseason games last season. But he only had playing time in just three of the first 11 regular season games. Then the forward was ruled out for three months due to a back injury. His rookie season basically amounted to nothing.
Now, Dekker has become quite the offensive force that nobody expected, which started with an increase in playing time. Last season, Dekker only averaged six minutes of playing time in his three games.
The former Wisconsin player is averaging 18.5 minutes per game, and he has benefited and taken advantage of every single minute of it. Dekker’s improvement only adds to the phenomenal season that the Rockets are having. With a record of 16-7, the Rockets are ranked fourth in the West.
Of his increased playing time, Dekker said, accoring to chron.com, “I think a level of expectation goes with every game. They expect me to play at a high level. They’re trusting me to be an integral part of the rotation. I wouldn’t call it pressure. I’m trying to do that every night, not get too high or too low, keeping learning.”
Dekker has done a good job in playing the role that seemed to be that of Donatas Motiejunas‘ who recently rejoined the Rockets.
A big reason for Dekker’s increase in playing time is his transition from a small forward to a power forward. Dekker would have to compete with K.J. McDaniels and Corey Brewer at the 3, but now as a power forward he has gotten more minutes, being a backup for Ryan Anderson.
Dekker’s shooting improvement has added to his role. Dekker is shooting about 50 percent from the floor, which is a huge improvement from last season’s limited sample size. Dekker has simply showed out this season and has proven his capabilities.
His posterizing dunk against Enes Kanter in Friday night’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder is an example of that.
Rockets' Sam Dekker flattens Thunder's Enes Kanter w/ poster dunk (all angles) pic.twitter.com/JLR9Hh8rvx
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) December 10, 2016
In a game against the Denver Nuggets, Dekker scored a career-high of 17 points. In another game against the Lakers, Dekker had a career-high of four assists.
The Rockets are currently undefeated this month with a five-game winning streak. Dekker’s stellar performance this month is a reason for the team’s success. So far this month, Dekker is averaging about 10.4 points and 5.0 rebounds per game.
There is no doubt that Dekker will get more minutes this season. If he continues this kind of performance throughout the rest of this season, the Rockets will continue to be successful. This is only Dekker’s second season and, so far, the future looks promising for him.
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