Now that the Houston Rockets are fully healthy, what should the team’s rotation be moving forward down the stretch of the regular season?
After dealing with injuries to key rotational players in recent weeks and months, the Houston Rockets are finally a healthy team.
Chris Paul has been back for several weeks now, but he is now joined by James Harden and Luc Mbah a Moute. Clint Capela has recovered from nagging injuries, as has his backup Nene. And after a suspension cost Trevor Ariza and Gerald Green two games, the team finally had a full rotation in its 99-90 win over the Miami Heat on Monday.
Now that Houston is finally healthy, it poses an interesting question: What should the team’s rotation be for the second half of the regular season?
While dealing with those key injuries, the Rockets had Tarik Black fill in nicely at center and picked up Gerald Green, a man known for getting buckets. Considering those aspects, along with the fact that in an ideal world, the team would want to limit the minutes for key players such as Harden, Paul and Ariza, Mike D’Antoni has several choices to make on a nightly basis moving forward.
The most likely outcome was reflected in the team’s win over the Heat. Nine players played in the win, with the usual starting lineup (Paul, Harden, Ariza, Ryan Anderson and Capela) supported by P.J. Tucker, Mbah a Moute, Nene and Eric Gordon off the bench. No player played more than 36 minutes, and several key players (Ariza, Capela and Gordon) played 30 minutes or less.
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The most telling sign was the absence of Gerald Green. He received a “DNP-Coach’s Decision,” which will likely be his fate on a game-to-game basis. In fact, Green will serve a similar role to Black, as a fill-in rotational piece when players are injured, resting or if the team just needs a lift offensively.
If the Rockets are struggling to get things going offensively, you can throw Green out there to put points on the board. However, play him too much (or against a good offensive team), and you’ll likely give up as many points as you score.
The Rockets will likely roll with their nine-man rotation that provides the best balance between offensive and defensive contributions, with Gordon filling in the third spot in the backcourt, Tucker and Mbah a Moute providing stout defense on the wings and Nene providing a physical presence (with good hands) in the post.
Having Gerald Green and Tarik Black as your 10th and 11th men in a rotation is a good indication of a deep team. More importantly, having those two as “third string” backups allows the Rockets to be more cautious with minutes and injuries down the stretch of the regular season.
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If recent seasons are any indication, it’s likely that the Rockets add another capable player in the coming weeks as the trade deadline approaches. That will only further boost the Rockets’ depth and rotation, which will likely lead to less playing time and more caution for their most important players.