Kevin Porter Jr. laughed at just the thought of Christian Wood expressing his opinion about a few passes that were not delivered, an indication in itself of how much the mood had changed in the two games and two wins since he returned to the Rockets lineup.
Theirs has been a partnership that helped trigger the sudden Rockets’ surge of scoring. With the lineup change and Porter’s return from a thigh injury that had him miss three games and hampered him in a handful of others, the Rockets shifted to extensive use of pick-and-roll, Porter handling the ball and Wood screening and cutting into the lane.
The potential of that point guard and center combination was clear, but perhaps as much could be seen from the times it didn’t work as the occasions it did.
“C-Wood, if I miss him, he doesn’t let me just miss him. He’s going to tell me that I missed him,” Porter said, chuckling at the memory. “I tried my hardest to get him back on one.
“Me and C-Wood just laugh at film. We watched a lot of film of prior pick-and-rolls in all the games. When I came back, I told him I want to make an emphasis on running two-man and just getting good reads and good looks. It’s been dope working with C-Wood, for sure.”
That might reveal something about the working relationship of players essential to the rebuilding and the two wins since the 15-game losing streak. Beyond that, it could say a great deal about the potential of the partnership and the meshing of their strengths.
“With two bigs, we started the season we had D.T. (Daniel Theis) and C-Wood out there … I missed him a lot,” Porter said. “I was playing perimeter ball, five out, swing, swing. I’ve made an emphasis to hit him on those rolls. Even if they blitz me, get off of (the ball) and hit him early and let him make a play because he’s going to make a good play more so than not.”
Porter’s strength is in attacking the paint off the dribble. Wood’s is as a pick-and-roll target.
Of Porter’s season-high 12 assists in Saturday’s win over Charlotte, six were to Wood, starting with the first possession of the game. Two others were from finding shooters left open when reading the defensive shift to Wood on pick-and-rolls. While Porter had perhaps his best game of the season, Wood followed the career-high six assists he had on Wednesday in a win over the Bulls with a career-high 33 points on Saturday.
“Just putting me in position to do what I do best,” Wood said. “Coach told me to go out there and be assertive and look for my shot and guys are going to feed off me. I feel like I was in a slump the past couple games before (Wednesday.) I think I’m doing a great job getting out that.”
He has played better, making 57.6 percent of his shots and 66.7 percent of his 3s the past two games. But that was to be expected. Meshing with Porter could indicate more.
“K.P. was making the right passes and the right reads,” Wood said. “It was going great for us. I think I’m one of the best pick-and-roll bigs in the league. They have to help, and if they don’t, it’s a dunk. If they do, it’s a 3.”
Wood had already shown the ability to be that productive with Porter saying that if not for last season’s injury, Wood “should have been an All-Star.”
“He is going to be an All-Star and we’re going to treat him like that,” Porter said. “He knows we need him.”
Porter’s play, however, might have revealed potential still developing. He shot well enough, making 7 of 16 shots, but his play and the Rockets’ 146 points in the overtime win over the Hornets were not the result of a one-time hot shooting night. He was more in command of his role as the point guard.
“You saw him controlling the game, finding C-Wood on the rolls, finding Eric (Gordon) on the flares, going downhill, getting to the free throw line at the end,” Rockets coach Stephen Silas said. “That’s big-time stuff for a 21-year-old trying to learn how to play the point guard position. So, growth.”
Porter said the improvement began with the games he was forced to watch, helping him to learn the reads he had been missing. He watched Gordon fill in, and then impressed the veteran not just with his play, but with his potential.
“You could see that growth on offense where he was really attacking and driving,” Gordon said. “He was a lot more under control. Of course, he’s going to make some mistakes turnover wise. But as long as he was aggressive, making the right plays for himself scoring-wise and others, he’s going to be a tough cover.
“The dude is talented, offensively, defensively. We want him to continue to be consistent. He can do that. He’s a special talent.”
He is also could be a good fit with the center that has been the Rockets’ leading scorer the past two seasons, with the two wins and offensive turnaround showing the potential of the partnership.
jonathan.feigen@chron.com
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The Christian Wood, Kevin Porter Jr. partnership shows its potential - Houston Chronicle
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