Inside The Rockets

Rockets Facing Rotation Conundrum

The Houston Rockets must figure out what to do with the rotation.

Jeremy Brener

Nov 6, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets forward Tari Eason (17) holds his hand after a play during the third quarter against the San Antonio Spurs at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
Nov 6, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets forward Tari Eason (17) holds his hand after a play during the third quarter against the San Antonio Spurs at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images / Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
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The Houston Rockets have a lot of cooks in the kitchen, but the question remains if there are too many.

Bleacher Report writer Andy Bailey describes the Rockets as "overstuffed" after the first nine games of the season.

"The Rockets are struggling to navigate a difficulty that many saw coming. They have too many players who need minutes, most of whom fall into one of two categories: critical developmental prospect or necessary veteran stabilizer. Even among the former category, it's hard to figure out which of Houston's many young players makes sense with one another," Bailey writes. "It's not necessarily a bad thing that Tari Eason can take over entire halves, Amen Thompson can defend Luka Dončić as well as any human on the planet, Jalen Green can score like a superstar and Jabari Smith Jr. is blossoming into a budget Kevin Durant who defends. But the Rockets can't feature everyone, and they need to find out which of their prospects is worth keeping and paying beyond Green and Alperen Sengün, who already got their extensions."

The Rockets originally had the issue of having a lack of talent, but after a few years of drafting top-notch prospects, the new issue is that the team has to figure out which players are legit and which aren't. That can be tricky when some players are only getting a handful of minutes every night, but it's a problem the Rockets would much rather have compared to their previous issues.

The Rockets are back on the court tomorrow as they take on the Detroit Pistons. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. CT.

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Jeremy Brener
JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.

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