Dorian Finney-Smith is Ready to Come off Minutes Restriction for Rockets

Dorian Finney-Smith was a prized free agent pick up for the Houston Rockets over the summer. Sure, Houston's splash offseason move was the Kevin Durant acquisition from the Phoenix Suns, which saw Rockets General Manager Rafael Stone and company acquire the eighth-leading scorer in NBA history for the nominal price of five second-round picks, along with Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks.

The team has proven to miss Brooks immensely this season. Understandably, as he left the Rockets a much better player than the version he arrived as, following his six years with the Memphis Grizzlies. Brooks was dubbed a selfish player who wanted to be a major part of the offense.

And while Brooks went on record to note his desire for more offensive touches, it was later proven that the Grizzlies had a culture problem. The team fired Taylor Jenkins and traded Desmond Bane long after Brooks bolted for the Rockets.

And in Houston, he averaged 10.7 shots in 2023-24 and 11.9 shots in 2024-25 -- fewer than his previous four seasons with the Grizzlies, during which time he became a consistent starter.

Brooks is a culture-shifter, who anchors down on defense and is a capable bucket-getter on the other end. This season, he's been lighting it up for the Suns, averaging a career-best 21.5 points.

Finney-Smith is also a viable defender, who boasts a seven-foot wingspan, who also made a career-best 41.1 percent of his attempts from long distance, while taking a healthy five attempts.

However, there was a bit of a delay for Finney-Smith's services, as the Rockets sought to give him ample time to recover from an injury to his lower extremities that's plagued him for years.

Ultimately, it took him 28 games to make his debut for the Rockets.

Through three games, Finney-Smith has yet to play more than 16 minutes per contest. In fact, he's averaging 15 minutes even.

On Tuesday, he explained his readiness and eagerness to get past the minutes restriction imposed by the Rockets.

"I know we've got a bunch of games coming up. Hopefully soon. So we'll see."

Finney-Smith also admitted that he's been impressed with Rockets reserve guard Reed Sheppard.

"Since I've been here, he's been shooting the cover off it. I'm just happy and proud of his growth.

He's been solid so far."

The 6-foot-7 wing added that he's just hoping to add whatever is needed for the Rockets, once given the opportunity to play extended minutes.