2013 FIBA Americas Championship: Houston Rockets’ Francisco Garcia Struggling

After landing Dwight Howard, the biggest prize of NBA Free Agency, this summer, the Houston Rockets then went about their business of filling out the rest of their rotation. Re-signing veteran wing Francisco Garcia to a two-year, $2.58 million contract, with a player option in the second year of that deal. With Garcia’s versatility to play either the two-guard or the three, it was a move that made sense for Houston.

However, after not producing much for the Rockets in the 2012-2013 season, Houston is undoubtedly looking for Garcia to return to form in the upcoming campaign. With what the 32-year-old has shown at the 2013 FIBA Americas Championship with the Dominican Republic, though, the Rockets may be a bit worried.

Through four games with his native country, Garcia has looked less-than-stellar. In 28.5 minutes per game he’s averaging only 10 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game, though he has looked solid defensively, averaging one steal and 1.8 blocks per game. The most problematic part of his performance thus far, though, is the fact that he shot only 33.3 percent from the floor in the preliminary round.

Over his eight year career in the NBA, Garcia established himself as a solid scoring threat with good range that was pretty much average in most other aspects in his game. However, that dissipated a bit last season as, in 58 games, he averaged just 5.5 points in 17.7 minutes per game and shot only 39.3 percent from the floor. He did convert on 37.4 percent of his attempts from long-range, but that hardly makes up for his overall inefficiency.

Garcia figures to be a big part of this Rockets team in the upcoming year. Though the Rockets are an extremely talented team, their reserve wing situation is a bit puzzling at the moment, but Garcia could help provide some stability. If he’s going to do that, though, he’s going to have to perform better than he has over the past week for the Dominican Republic when he puts on a uniform for Houston.

Cody Williams is a Senior Writer with Rant Sports. Follow Cody on Twitter @TheSizzle20, add him on Google and like his Facebook page.

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