Houston Rockets Want to Get Regular Rotation Playing Time to Avoid Rust

The Houston Rockets close out their regular season against the Denver Nuggets as they may use this game as a dress rehearsal for the playoffs.

Mar 30, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Houston Rockets head coach Ime Udoka reacts to a foul call against the Phoenix Suns in the first half at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images / Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

The time has come. The Houston Rockets are wrapping up their most successful regular season in several seasons as they welcome the Denver Nuggets to the Toyota Center on Sunday afternoon. The Rockets come into the regular season finale 52-29 after two straight losses in Los Angeles.

The two losses come as no surprise, as the Rockets rested most of their regular rotation since they have already wrapped up not only home-court advantage but also the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference. Going into the Rockets' last two road games, Ime Udoka told Danielle Lerner that he wanted to give some of his players a rest after a long season.

"We've got a few guys that are nicked up, and hopefully we're in a position to make some decisions about getting guys totally healthy,"

Players like Alperen Sengun and Jalen Green have been dealing with different ailments all season long. Sengun has played in majority of the games this season and in Green's case he has played in every game this season and 185 straight games.

As mentioned earlier, the Rockets lost both games against the Clippers and the Lakers, but those two games were more about resting players than trying to secure a meaningless win. Even with the benefits of resting players to end the regular season, you also don't want your team to become rusty heading into the playoffs.

Udoka stated prior to Wednesday matchup with the Clippers that "We don't want to take too much off and be rusty," That leads many to believe that the Rockets will give their regular rotation players minutes in the regular season finale.

That seems to line up with the Rockets latest injury report. The prior two games' injury reports practically had the entire roster listed as out, but Sunday's report has only one name on the list: Jae'Sean Tate, who is out with a sore ankle.

The Rockets still do not know who they will face in the first round of the playoffs, as sports 4-10 are still up for grabs in the Western Conference. The Nuggets can still finish anywhere from the fourth seed to the seventh seed. Coming into Sunday's game, the Rockets could play five different opponents depending on Sunday's results.

The Rockets host the Denver Nuggets as they close out the regular season.

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