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The center of innovation: The Rockets’ big gamble of ditching the center position is paying off … for now

Most chess grandmasters know their first move within seconds. They’ve seen everything, and their minds flip through those folders effortlessly. Get rid of timers, however, and that huge advantage loses its importance, allowing a new talent pool to be introduced to the game while eliminating another.

Sometimes those changes happen organically. Sometimes they are the results of gimmicks and rule changes. For basketball, consider what the invention of the 3-point line and the elimination of hand-checking have done for smaller players.

Robert Covington has blossomed with the Rockets. (AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith)

The organizations that have pushed the game forward engage in that kind of self-assessment naturally.