The Houston Rockets badly missed Dillon Brooks in their first season without him last year, with the Phoenix Suns profiting from having a fringe All-Star care about the regular season in ways we didn't think possible. The Rockets have now brought in Marcus Smart in an attempt to replicate what Brooks gave them in the past, but it is not going to work out for that team and their ailing title aspirations.
Smart is a poor man's Brooks at best and it will quickly show
Signing Smart 12 months ago would have made more sense, when Houston had just lost point guard Fred VanVleet to an ACL injury. Instead, they took on the "chill guy" persona of Kevin Durant, and it showed in the playoffs as they were bounced in the first round by a Los Angeles Lakers outfit that featured Smart.
At 32, Smart is two years Brooks's senior, and he has a far worse injury history. Part of the beauty of the Canadian international's game is that he has a bigger body to annoy elite scorers and all manner of opponents, a luxury Smart doesn't quite have. It has already been on full display in preseason action, Brooks undoing his kung fu training in China with a technical versus the Detroit Pistons.
Brooks has also proven both with the Suns and Rockets—and even the Memphis Grizzlies before that—that the whole team is capable of taking on his persona. Again, not a trait that Smart boasts, as he works better as an additional irritant and vital contributor on a roster that is trying to contend.
How he hopes to come off the bench (assuming VanVleet is healthy from the jump) and have an impact next to Durant is anybody's guess, but it is no longer Brooks' problem. He enters his second campaign in The Valley knowing exactly what he has to do to help the Suns win games. Already, he has been part of a three-guard lineup that is going to give opponents nightmares.
Smart ironically better suited to playing for Phoenix
The Rockets trying to paper over a Brooks-sized crack with Smart is understandable, but Phoenix is actually where he would quietly thrive. Imagine a scenario in which he played alongside Brooks, was the point guard in the backcourt with Devin Booker, and was playing for a Head Coach in Jordan Ott who prioritizes defense.
We have already seen Miles Bridges begin life with the franchise on the front foot; there is no reason Smart would have been any different. Come the end of the season, when the Suns and Rockets have similar records and Brooks has been a massive factor while Smart has not, this patch job is going to look even worse from the perspective of the franchise in Houston.
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