The Houston Rockets are going for it.
A season after they finished with the second-best record in the vaunted Western Conference, Houston found itself in a position to add future Hall of Famer and all-time legend, thermonuclear scorer Kevin Durant.
With the continued development of Alperen Şengün, Amen Thompson, Reed Sheppard, and Jabari Smith Jr. along with veterans like Fred VanVleet and Steven Adams, the Rockets are loaded to make a run at the Thunder’s lofty perch atop the West.
But do they have the right combos to make it through the regular season and deeper into the playoffs? And how do they manage Durant’s versatility while getting the most out of the rest of the team?
Here’s a look at the Rockets’ depth chart and the biggest questions headed into next season.
Houston Rockets traditional depth chart
Position | Starter | Bench 1 | Option | Option |
|---|---|---|---|---|
PG | Fred VanVleet | Aaron Holiday | Amen Thompson | |
SG | Amen Thompson | Reed Sheppard | ||
SF | Jabari Smith Jr. | Tari Eason | Kevin Durant | Jae'Sean Tate |
PF | Kevin Durant | Tari Eason | Alperen Sengun | Jabari Smith Jr. |
C | Alperen Sengun | Steven Adams | Clint Capela | Kevin Durant |
Rockets modern depth chart
- Guards: Fred VanVleet, Amen Thompson, Aaron Holiday, Reed Sheppard
- Wings: Amen Thompson, Reed Sheppard, Jabari Smith Jr., Kevin Durant, Tari Eason, Jae’Sean Tate
- Power Forwards: Kevin Durant, Tari Eason, Jabari Smith Jr., Jeff Green, Alperen Sengun, Jae’Sean Tate
- Bigs: Steven Adams, Clint Capela, Jeff Green, Jabari Smith Jr.
What will the Rockets do with their 700,000 power forwards?
The nice thing is that the Rockets have an elite level of versatility with their forwards. The bad news is you have to somehow find room for all of them during the course of 48 minutes.
The easiest way to figure out who’s going to play on an NBA team in most cases is to follow the money.
There have been suggestions that the Rockets could start Amen Thompson at small forward with Reed Sheppard at shooting guard with VanVleet. But that ignores the five-year, $122 million extension Houston signed Smith to this summer.
So I’m expecting Smith to start at small forward with KD at power forward, though both are, essentially, combo forwards. Both can space the floor and both have size.
The Rockets kept Jae’Sean Tate for the 700th season in a row despite his trade value. Who spends more time at power forward, Tate or Smith in non-Durant lineups? What about Tari Eason? Does Eason spend more time with KD, and can you tell which player is at what position in those lineups? What about with Smith?
Jeff Green won’t play much, he’s the veteran uncle in the locker room, but if he does play, it’s likely to be at center.
How do they make all the bigs fit in their two-big lineups?
Last season, Houston found one of its best combinations was the Alperen Sengun-Steven Adams double-big lineup. Houston doubled down on that by re-signing Adams to an extension.
OK, so you move Şengün to power forward and Durant moves to his historically traditional position of small forward.
But now Jabari Smith Jr. is squeezed, right after signing that extension. Now it’s harder to get time for Reed Sheppard and Tari Eason. And having Clint Capela as both an insurance option for games Adams misses playing the double-big and as a foul-trouble replacement is valuable, but are you going to go big the entire game?
The great thing for Houston is that they get to approach each game with a counter-advantage. The challenge will be finding a balance between providing enough opportunities for everyone and ensuring no one gets lost in the process.
Letting the kids grow
The Rockets are clearly ready to compete right now, but their young talent is so good that you have to give them opportunities as well. They’ll need the floor spacing of Reed Sheppard a year after he spent more time in the G League because of the glut of 2-guards on the roster.
That glut is gone, but the phalanx of forwards the Rockets have to find time for will complicate matters in getting him opportunities.
Meanwhile, Amen Thompson might be their best overall young player, even including All-Star Alperen Şengün. How much time does Thompson get to hone his playmaking skills on a team that wants to try and win 55+ games this season, with Fred VanVleet still a plus-minus monster in terms of keeping the offense organized?
The upside for Jabari Smith is learning from Kevin Durant and getting to improve his game with him. The difficulty will be making sure Smith gets enough opportunities for a player who was once considered the favorite to go No. 1 in his draft. If the Rockets find that double-big is again a cheat code to winning, is Smith the one who once again sinks to the background?
Houston’s roster is loaded, but Ime Udoka and staff have their work cut out for them in making sure the meals are spread out enough so that no one goes home hungry.