NBA Power Rankings Week 2: Scorching hot Miami Heat and what scares me

Last Week: (L) to BOS, (L) to DAL, (L) to UTA

The Houston Rockets should be giving plenty of minutes to their young prospects and minimize the mileage for their more veteran players. Jalen Green has certainly been a beneficiary of that, averaging 32 minutes per game, but behind him his fellow rookies have much smaller roles. That doesn’t have to be a bad thing, but thus far the Rockets are trying to thread the needle of development and competing for wins.

Is it the organization that wants to push for wins? Is head coach Stephen Silas on the hot seat? Regardless the Rockets have Eric Gordon, Daniel Theis, David Nwaba, D.J. Augustin and Danuel House all in the rotation, while players like Usman Garuba and Josh Christopher are buried. Perhaps as the season unfolds and their fate is more clear the youth movement will begin in full and they can continue evaluating their four rookies.

Scares Me: They are investing in Kevin Porter Jr. The Houston Rockets seem to think that Porter can be their point guard of the future alongside Jalen Green. That’s already a difficult idea since both are slight, defensive liabilities. Add in the fact that Porter is an inefficient scorer and his long-term value is in question. There is no doubt he is a talented player still with huge upside, but his ability to capture that upside depends on maturity growth that may or may not have happened. The Rockets need to conclude soon that he and Green are not a good fit and look to move KPJ rather than invest in him long-term.