Ben McLemore Continues Hot Stretch in Rockets' Win Over Jazz

Ben McLemore is shooting 46.1% from three since Jan. 1, including a 4-4 performance in Saturday's win at Utah.

Ben McLemore's road to Houston was a winding one. 

The Kansas product spent five seasons in Sacramento and one season in Memphis before signing with the Rockets in July, and McLemore failed to establish himself as a reliable rotation player in each of his two previous stops. But McLemore's tenure in Houston has been anything but rocky. Rather, McLemore has established himself as one of the most reliable Rockets in 2019-20, adding some serious scoring punch to Houston's bench lineups.

McLemore has played in all 56 games this season after Saturday's win over the Jazz, averaging 10.2 points per game while shooting 39.2% from three. The victory in Utah marked another strong performance for McLemore, who made all four of his three-point attempts. 

"That's a quick shooter," Rockets head coach Mike D'Antoni said on Saturday. "Anytime we need him on the floor he's ready. ...He's been really good for us all year."

McLemore has been reliable throughout 2019-20, though he's been especially hot of late. The No. 7 pick in the 2013 NBA Draft has canned 46.4% of threes in his last 12 contests, and he hasn't missed from beyond the arc since the All-Star break. With one of the league's quickest triggers (and little hesitancy from beyond the arc) McLemore has quickly become a valuable member of the Rockets' rotation. 

McLemore's dead-eye shooting makes him a bit of an outlier in the Harden era. He and Ryan Anderson are the lone Rockets to convert over 39% of threes with over 120 makes since 2012-13. No Harden teammate has made 120 threes at better than 40% in each of the last three seasons.

The 27-year-old remains a defensive liability. McLemore has the worst defensive rating of all Rockets since Jan. 1, and he was briefly pulled from Saturday’s contest after a defensive lapse in the second quarter. But McLemore isn’t being asked to be a defensive stopper. Even passable performance on that end will suffice. As Houston’s best three-point shooter, McLemore should continue to find a consistent role in the Rockets’ rotation down the stretch.