After being criticized in the offseason for his play and expensive contract, Ryan Anderson has bounced back this season for the Houston Rockets.

During the 2017 offseason, many Houston Rockets fans were disappointed and quite frankly, annoyed that Ryan Anderson‘s expensive contract appeared to be getting in the way of a trade for Carmelo Anthony.

However, 25 games into the season, Rockets fans sure are glad that Anderson is still providing the elite floor-spacing Houston needs while Anthony is struggling to get integrated with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

In fact, Anderson has provided more value than expected, as he has dropped some weight and improved defensively, in addition to his usual elite shooting. If you were to just look at his traditional counting stats (12 points, 5.3 rebounds per game), you would assume he is having a poor season, especially for someone earning nearly $20 million this season.

However, Anderson is shooting a career-high from the field (46.5 percent) and from beyond the arc (41.4 percent), and has increased his rebounding this season.

Additionally, Anderson’s Player Efficiency Rating (13.9), Win Shares per 48 minutes (.141) and Box Plus-Minus (0.4) have all increased this season, highlighting not only his improvement and contributions, but his perfect fit with this Rockets team.

In fact, Anderson has been lights out since Chris Paul returned on Nov. 16. In the 10 games since, Anderson is shooting 52 percent on 3-pointers, and 53.9 percent from the field.

Paul and Anderson have built a consistent connection when on the floor together, as Anderson provides Paul with a floor-spacing four he has never truly had in his career. Against the Utah Jazz and Indiana Pacers, Paul and Anderson showed off their connection in two different ways:

In the above clip, Anderson is moving behind the arc to get open as Paul navigates near the paint, allowing Paul to see him and give him the open look.

In the next clip, Anderson slips the screen in the pick-and-pop, and Paul waits for the defense to lose focus on Anderson, slipping a behind-the-back pass for the open (deep) 3:

That connection has led to numerous quality shots for Anderson. In fact, in that game against the Jazz, Paul had five assists alone to Anderson, all of which were 3-pointers.

Another important component of Anderson’s game is his ability to hit extremely deep 3-pointers. Defenders simply aren’t used to guarding so far behind the arc, further stretching the defense and allowing James Harden and Pual to drive to the rim with relative easy and space.

Watch how Derrick Favors simply isn’t expecting Anderson to pop out so far behind the line, allowing Anderson to get off a clean look:

In this next clip, Anderson trails the play in transition and just spots up from several feet behind the 3-point line, allowing Paul to just toss him the ball for a wide open look:

The extra floor-spacing that Anderson (and Eric Gordon) provide is very important for a Rockets team that relies heavily on the pick-and-roll and having space for Harden and Paul to attack the rim.

Anderson will never be a go-to scorer or resemble anything like an above-average defender. However, his shooting has been incredibly valuable so far this season, and his improved defense (along with offseason additions such as P.J. Tucker and Luc Mbah a Moute) have allowed the Rockets to build a near top-five defense this season.

There’s no way the Rockets are 21-4 and soaring this season if Carmelo Anthony is in Ryan Anderson’s spot. Anderson’s ability to stretch the floor and play off the ball is crucial for the Houston Rockets’ offense.