Dorian Finney-Smith Nearing Rockets Debut

This past offseason, the Houston Rockets made several "splash acquisitions". Granted, what one person defines as a splash acquisition won't necessarily meet the same criteria of the next man.

Kevin Durant is an unequivocal splash move, regardless of the person or criteria. He's stamped as one of the game's greatest players of all time.

He's definitely one of the game's greatest scorers, even if he has regressed a tad bit to start his Rockets career.

The other big-time move made by Rockets General Manager Rafael Stone and company was the free agent signing of Dorian Finney-Smith. Several teams were in pursuit of Finney-Smith and the Los Angeles Lakers certainly would've preferred to have kept him.

The Rockets gave him a four-year deal worth $52.7 million in order to secure his services, giving them yet another switchable wing defender who fits the 3-and-D mold.

Plus, the Rockets needed to replace Dillon Brooks, who had become the heart and soul of the team, but who was also dealt to the Phoenix Suns in the Durant trade.

What wasn't quite known at the time of the signing was that Finney-Smith was going to miss extensive time upon signing. With roughly a quarter of the season complete, Finney-Smith has still not taken the court.

According to Rockets coach Ime Udoka, Finney-Smith could be nearing his Rockets debut.

"Dorian is improving,” Udoka said. “He’s starting to ramp it up a little bit. He’ll get some live work in. Obviously, how he reacts to that determines when he gets back. It will be a little bit still. I think we’re anticipating more around January hopefully, but he’s getting into the phase of playing a little bit more now.”

This should be music to the ears of Rockets' fans. Again, Finney-Smith is one of the most switchable defenders in the league.

And he became an elite outside shooter last season, knocking down 41.1 percent of his outside attempts at a reasonable volume (five attempts).

Finney-Smith's absence has been amplified with Tari Eason also out of commission with injury.

Finney-Smith played through the injury extensively in past years, which prolonged the healing, which is why the Rockets didn't rush his return and allowed him ample time to heal.

Besides, it's more important that he's healthy in April and May than in November and December.