Houston Rockets: 5 obstacles to contending in 2017-18

2. Guard depth

Although the Rockets have two elite point guards and the reigning Sixth Man of the Year, the depth at the guard positions is lacking. Due to the staggering of Paul and Harden, Houston will most likely play a three-guard rotation similar to the first half of last season before they acquired Lou Williams.

However, that could become a problem if injuries strike. As detailed earlier, Gordon and Paul have struggled with nagging injuries in recent seasons. It’s almost a guarantee that you can pencil both Paul and Gordon to miss anywhere from 5-10 games each season, which will put a big strain on both Harden and their guards at the end of the bench.

It should be a goal for Houston to limit Harden and Paul’s minutes, making the need for a capable fourth guard even more important. If Paul goes down with an injury, Houston could insert Gordon to the starting lineup, but that leaves just Bobby Brown and/or Isaiah Taylor to fill the bench minutes at the guard positions. That’s a problem.

Brown and Taylor are players that should only see significant minutes when Houston is resting players or in the closing stages of blowouts. In a deeper and stronger Western Conference, relying on both to play significant roles in the event of an injury could cost the Rockets in the standings.

The Rockets are very deep in the frontcourt, but the backcourt could still use an addition of a capable veteran in the event of injuries and resting.