Rockets’ McHale says Lawson and Beverley will battle for PG spot
The Houston Rockets’ July trade for Denver Nuggets point guard Ty Lawson represented a classic case of general manager Daryl Morey adding a talented player at a relatively low price. A string of DUI arrests forced Denver’s hand in moving the most productive player on the roster, and Morey was there to swoop in with inessential role players and a lottery-protected first-round pick. The deal gave head coach Kevin McHale another potential high-impact player (though a high-risk one, too), a major move for a team that sometimes relied too much on James Harden in 2014-15.
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With training camps set to open in a matter of weeks, the question is what role Lawson will take on in the Rockets lineup. Incumbent point guard Patrick Beverley has been a great fit with Harden as a tenacious defender who doesn’t need the ball to succeed, but Lawson offers more options and a higher offensive ceiling.
McHale has yet to make a decision, because he wants the players themselves to prove who deserves the job. He explained his perspective at the release party for the Rockets’ new alternate uniforms. From Jonathan Feigen for the Houston Chronicle:
Rockets coach Kevin McHale raved about the skills Ty Lawson will bring and how well those skills will fit. He would not, however, assume that Lawson will start over the incumbent at the point, Pat Beverley, or how the minutes will be distributed.
“They’ll determine that,” McHale said before a Rockets event on Tuesday to unveil three new alternate uniforms. “We’ll find out. Can we play them together? Maybe. We’ll put them out there. We had 28 days of camp. We’ll decide who will get the lion’s share of the minutes. One will and one will be a backup.”
“Ty last year had a very average year in Denver compared to what he had done before,” McHale said. “(Former Nuggets coach) George Karl runs a little bit more of an open offense like we run here, get up and down, attack. We want Ty to do what he does best, get in the paint, make plays for others, scoring.
It would go too far to read McHale’s praise for Lawson as a show of prejudice, because it’s natural for a coach to talk up the new player instead of the one whose role is well defined. We should take him at his word that the job is indeed open and will be determined in camp.
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Regardless, Beverley would seem to have the upper hand if only for his familiarity. The Rockets know that he fits with what they like to do and especially that he won’t detract from what Harden does best. Plus, while McHale describes Lawson’s 2014-15 struggles in terms of not playing in George Karl’s system, his stats in Brian Shaw’s two seasons were quite good despite a drop in shooting percentage. The issue with Lawson was and continues to be his relationship with alcohol, although it’s understandable why McHale wouldn’t want to mention that in a public forum so as to not embarrass him. If Lawson doesn’t get sober then McHale’s big decision isn’t really a decision at all.
On an even playing field, though, it’s possible to make reasonable arguments for both players, which makes McHale’s statement that the starter will get “the lion’s share of the minutes” a bit odd. For one thing, both players are accustomed to regular playing time — Beverley has averaged right around 31 minutes per game as Rockets starter these past two seasons and Lawson hasn’t averaged fewer than 34.4 per game since 2010-11, his second year as a pro. Given their differing skillsets and Harden’s need to log big minutes at the other guard spot, it would make sense to see both play considerably fewer minutes in 2015-16 in a sort of platoon depending on matchups and situations. Both players could perform well as reserves — Lawson as instant offense, Beverley as a high-energy pest — but it figures that each expects a major role based on prior contributions.
This take arguably reads too much into McHale’s wording, but it’s still worth keeping an eye on this situation. Lawson comes to Houston as the point guard with something to prove, but Beverley just signed a new four-year contract and sees a long-term home with the franchise. If McHale can’t divide their minutes in a way that keeps both happy, it could fall in Morey to swing another trade to get maximum value out of their situation. As he has proven many times over, he is not shy about clearing up a buildup at one position (often one of his own making) with a deft deal.
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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
