The Houston Rockets are currently in the interior position, which can be said to be a mixed bag. The good news is that the starting two interior linemen, Alperen Shenjing and Jabari Smith, have grown very quickly, and Alperen Shenjing has shown the strength of an All-Star level player in his third year of career. Jabari Smith isn't far behind, at least as a qualified starter, and at the moment there is no problem. However, the Rockets can only rely on veteran Jeff Green in the selection of bench interiors, and the signing of Jock Landale this summer is completely unexpected, which also makes the Rockets immediately fall into passivity as long as Alperen Shenjing is out of the court.
So if you want to hit the playoffs, the Rockets must strengthen their interior strength and depth. Team reporter Kyrie Eco is back in for advice, and he suggested that the Rockets ask Wizards center Daniel Gafford to make a big deal out of the Rockets' position if the latter can come to Houston and form a major rotation trio with Alperen Shinjing and Jabari Smith, plus veteran Jeff Green.
The 25-year-old Daniel Gafford was born in the second round and had a low starting point at the beginning, but since entering the league, Daniel Gafford has quickly shown the potential of a top blue-collar center. Especially after switching to the Washington Wizards in the second half of the 20-21 season, Daniel Gafford began to top the starter, which also allowed him to fully display his talent. Daniel Gafford has been very active this season, averaging 98 points 76 rebounds 16 assists as well as an astonishing 21 block, but unfortunately Daniel Gafford alone can't make up for so many holes in the Wizards, and in the absence of record pressure, the Wizards are only better than the Pistons, ranking second to last in the East.
Daniel Gafford may not be a star, but he tops the league with two advantages, and is a good piece of the team puzzle. First of all, Daniel Gafford is shooting more than 70% from the field, and since entering the league, he has been very good at getting his homework done under the basket. Of course, Daniel Gafford lacks a consistent scoring tool, especially once he is out of the three-second zone, he is basically no offensive threat. But as an interior blue-collar worker, Daniel Gafford has a strong ability to grasp opportunities, especially in teams with more offensive points, and he doesn't need Daniel Gafford to score at all.
On the defensive end, Daniel Gafford can do a good job of protecting the rim and rebounding at the same time, which is commendable. You must know that so far this season, Daniel Gafford has only averaged about 25 minutes per game, but his rebounding statistics are still not bad, and the help defense block is a must. If Daniel Gafford joins the Rockets, he will most likely need to be a substitute, but from another point of view, if a player of Daniel Gafford is of this level and strength, he can only be a substitute in the Rockets, at least the interior position will seem very luxurious.