Game changes to fit Tucker’s strengths
Self-professed ‘tweener,’ addition takes pride in versatility and defense
Players, especially free agents with visions of open 3s, meet with Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni and talk about his offense.
The Rockets are happy to oblige, knowing that to be one of the great selling points as they make their recruiting pitch. P.J. Tucker had other things in mind.
He knew about the offense. He could picture himself taking corner 3s, having long imagined himself receiving passes from his buddy Chris Paul and turning them into the sort of shots any player that has drilled himself into a 3-point shooter would love.
He knew about playing for D’Antoni, having checked in with former teammate Jared Dudley, one of the players who rave about his time with the Rockets coach.
Tucker, 32, needed to hear the Rockets would
understand what he brings defensively. He needed to know they could appreciate not just his aptitude or the attitude, but the fit.
It turned out that was just why they wanted him.
As much as D’Antoni’s offense has come to define the style of the current NBA, defense in the NBA has come to match with Tucker’s strengths. He had come out of Texas as a 6-6 power forward long before the NBA embraced the ability of players like him to match up from the paint to the perimeter.
“I didn’t even have to ask,” Tucker said. “I know Mike D’Antoni’s system. I know how that goes. I feel like I can adapt to any defense. Once you get the fundamentals of a team’s defense, it makes it easier. That’s why I’m a Houston Rocket now.”
Before teams began following the leader and searching for their Draymond Green defender, Tucker was labeled undersized and had to make his way through Europe. But in the years since, NBA styles have changed to match his.
“When I came out of school, being a ‘tweener’ and not having a natural position was my biggest knock,” Tucker said. “Now, that is the biggest thing they talk about, being able to switch positions, being able to guard every position. Especially with the way the offense is now, that is considered an asset. When I first came out of school, that was a knock. I think the game’s changed for the better. Now you get, most of the time in the fourth quarter, the three men play the four. You see almost every game at the end of the game, almost every team you see a three man playing the four is almost natural. A Draymond Green, back in the day, would be a three, a two guard. Now, he plays the four and a lot of five.”
Developed a shot
Tucker was a secondteam All-American at Texas in 2006, but was considered a fringe prospect as a 6-6 power player without the shooting range he has developed. He played 17 games with the Raptors before spending five seasons in Europe.
He returned to the NBA with the Suns as a physical and determined defender, feisty in ways similar to a previous Rockets player to pay dues in Europe, Pat Beverley. His skills improved over the years — he made 40 percent of his 3s with the Raptors last season — but in many ways, his style has not changed from his days in Austin.
His choice to sign with the Rockets — accepting a $32 million, four-year contract rather than the $33 million over three years offered by the Raptors — was not to return to Texas. But it was a nice bonus.
“For me, it’s just icing on the cake to be back in Texas,” Tucker said. “It’s great to be back with my Longhorn family. I won’t discount it. It means a lot to be back in Texas where it all started.”
There is something else familiar awaiting him. Tucker and Paul have been friends since childhood in North Carolina. Paul helped lead the recruiting efforts, but Tucker knew they would fit for reasons — as with so much of his decision — that went beyond running D’Antoni’s offense and taking open 3s.
Buddies with Paul
“For me, Chris is a competitor,” Tucker said. “He will go out and compete on both ends and want to win every single night. To get a chance to play with a guy like that, I’m all for it. I know what he’s going to bring every single night. That’s the kind of guy as a free agent you look to play with because he is a fierce competitor.
“It just felt right, man. We had a bunch of teams in negotiations we talked to. Chris Paul is a good friend. It was an easy choice. It was natural. Toronto has a bunch of guys I love and respect. I had a great time there. But Houston was the right choice. For me, it was just organic. It was right, so right.”