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The cult will start off slowly. Houston’s roster has a wealth of young talent in need of development, but the team doesn’t have enough minutes in the rotation to accommodate their youth while keeping their more proven veterans happy. Parsons will likely take up the role of Chase Budinger’s doppelganger as the tall and athletic floor-spacer, but with Terrence Williams and more widely-anticipated rookie Marcus Morris also deserving of minutes, Parsons won’t be playing much, realistically.
From (noted Chandler Parsons expert) Danny Chau’s “Let’s Start A Cult About: Chandler Parsons”
A few games into the season, it appeared Chandler Parsons would indeed struggle to earn minutes on an ever-crowded Rockets’ roster. The logjam at small forward was undeniably present, and Terrence Williams was getting almost the entirety of backup small forward minutes for the struggling Rockets. While Marcus Morris’s assignment to the D-League gave Parsons the chance to earn slight minutes at the 3, little real opportunity at the position remained. But, as has been wont to happen throughout his career, Williams fell out of the Rockets’ rotation almost completely. Combined with a brief injury to Budinger, Parsons was able to earn himself a spot in the rotation and eventually a starting position.
Eleven games into his career, Chandler Parsons has already started four times (all coming in the last four games). He’s quickly become the best option at small forward for the Rockets, and outperformed expectations in almost every facet of his game (except from the three-point line, where he’s started slowly). What had Danny and others so excited about Parsons’ game – the hustle, the versatility, and the athleticism – has revealed itself in conjunction with a confident demeanor. Quite simply, Parsons’s game fits the Rockets’ offense: he’s a shooting threat, he moves well away from the ball, and he rebounds well for his position. In many ways, Parsons has been a better version of Budinger, and the player Budinger was supposed to be this season for a Rockets’ team that relies on spacing and well-rounded players.
Oh, and he does things like this from time to time:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GFsFGlbiBg
After playing less than 36 minutes in the Rockets’ first six games, Parsons has averaged more than 27 minutes per game since, and shown few signs of relinquishing the starting role anytime in the near future. Though he’s underwhelmed from behind the arc in a relatively small sample size, he’s shown abilities beyond what many expected. Despite playing primarily at small forward, Parsons holds the eighth-best rebounding rate of any rookie, the highest for any small forward in the class. He’s also acquitted himself better than expected on the defensive end of the floor. In the four games he’s started, his primary matchups have provided the following performances (albeit not entirely against Parsons):
Kevin Durant: 10-25 FG, 27 points.
Derrick Brown: 3-6 FG, 6 points.
Kawhi Leonard: 5-12 FG, 11 points.
John Salmons: 2-10 Fg, 4 points.
Combined: 20-53 FG (38 percent), 12.3 PPG in 30+ MPG (121 total minutes)
Admittedly, this is a small sample size. Parsons’s impressive footwork and willingness to exhibit defensive movement are likely far better indicators of the defensive player he may become. But those defensive performances, coupled with Parsons’s apparent ability to grow into a decent defensive player from a skills standpoint, indicate a possible strength for Parsons. In those same four games, Parsons has also managed eight steals.
It’s important to exhibit wariness when judging the quality of a player after only 11 games of experience. Eleven games seem paltry in the grand tale of a career, though it’s one-sixth of a truncated lockout season. It’s fairly possible that Parsons will find himself out of the Rockets’ rotation at some point this season, a second-round pick once again in his expected place. But what’s especially encouraging about Parsons’s early success and, relatedly, the possibilities of his future career, is his ability to provide a strong performance without the viability of one of his purported strengths. Parsons has flourished despite shooting poorly from three, once expected to be his greatest NBA strength. That he’s reached the basket, passed well, and defended acceptably is far more important than immediate success at a quantified strength. There’s a far greater likelihood that Parsons will improve from beyond the three-point line than not, due to a strong form and years of shooting well from that area.
Parsons’s greatest strength at this juncture has been a very impressive ability to finish at the rim. Parsons has not only skipped past NBA defenders with long, well-placed strides, he’s also finished with great aplomb. He’s shot 64 percent at the rim on almost three attempts per game, capitalizing on the Rockets’ offensive spacing. His mid-range shooting has also been excellent (71 percent from 16-23 feet).
It’s apparent that Parsons is not without weaknesses. In order to sustain long-term success, he’ll likely need to provide average or above-average three-point shooting. But, making the rational assumption that his mid-range shooting percentages will regress to the mean and his three-point shooting will rise to it, Parsons should continue to provide average to above-average production for the team (he currently holds a 16.3 PER). He has the capability to act as an ideal 5th starter, a player able to score and rebound when needed in split minutes (with Chase Budinger). In that sense, the Rockets need Parsons’s consistency and solidity, strengths likely to develop and grow in firmness as the season continues.
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