If in September someone told you that a possible Rockets lineup in an actual game that mattered might include Aaron Holiday and Jae’Sean Tate, you might think it was either a blowout or the team had been decimated by injuries. Instead, it’s a strategy being employed by coach Ime Udoka down the stretch as they search for answers before the postseason.
Despite all the issues facing the Rockets this season, health has not been one of them. Yes, they lost Fred VanVleet just before training camp and Steven Adams midway through the year, but Kevin Duran, Alperen Sengun, Amen Thompson, Jabari Smith, Jr., Tari Eason, Reed Sheppard and others have been relatively healthy all season long. Yet, here we are.
The problem for this team has been a combination of poor shooting, defensive lapses, and one of the worst records in close games in the NBA. Certainly plenty of that can be attributed to the importance of VanVleet and Adams, who seemed to be the glue that held a somewhat tenuous roster together. But, even they may not have been able to fully explain or salvage a brutal loss at Minnesota last week.
The Rockets, down 14 in the fourth quarter, roared back to tie the game and scored the first 13 points in overtime, only to see the T-Wolves score 15 straight and win a pivotal game in the race for seeding in the Western Conference.
It was a game where the Rockets missed shots, turned the ball over, and generally seemed completely panicked despite a huge lead (ask Duke about how it feels after what happened to them against UConn over the weekend). It also puts the Wolves in the driver’s seat for finishing ahead of the Rockets — the two teams are currently tied in the standings.
As a result, Udoka has made it clear that all options are on the table. Eason has been mostly relegated to a smaller role after both his defense and shooting fell off a cliff at midseason. Dorian Finney-Smith, a player the team had hoped would provide the kind of three-and-D Dillon Brooks did last season, has never seemed recovered from offseason surgery and is glued to the bench.
After Sheppard was inserted into the starting lineup, Udoka’s next moves came in finding a spark off the bench. Tate, who had been on the injured list, is the kind of spark plug Udoka wants on the floor. He isn’t a great scorer, but he is high energy and hustles all over the floor. Similarly, Holiday can knock down jumpers and play quality on-the-ball defense against most guards.
Whether or not bringing veterans off the bench as primary reserves will make any difference seems unlikely, but the Rockets have struggled so much in recent weeks, it is worth a try, especially heading into a postseason where they seem ill equipped to advance.
Udoka certainly gets credit for recognizing that things aren’t working. He’s never been afraid to bench a star player or try something — anything — different. One wonders if this is just too little, too late for this season.
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