The Houston Rockets have some work to do, from a roster standpoint. This couldn’t have been made more obvious following Houston’s disappointing first-round postseason series against the Los Angeles Lakers, who were playing without their best player in Luka Doncic, while their second-best player in Austin Reaves was limited to just two games.
The Rockets were dominated by Marcus Smart and Luke Kennard for much of the series. Which is a major concern. Especially considering the landscape of the top
of the Western Conference.
We just saw Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs (which was an instant classic, by the way). Both of those teams are leagues ahead of the Rockets.
Either of them would likely sweep the Rockets, with each side at full strength. Okay, maybe Houston would win a game, but you get the point.
There’s a rather steep lag between Houston and the top teams in the West. And it doesn’t appear as if the Rockets’ brass is on the same page, as it pertains to roster alignment.
Which is also a major concern.
Following Houston’s season-ending defeat to the Lakers, Rockets coach Ime Udoka emphasized the need for a multitude of skillsets on the roster.
Take a look (and figurative listen) for yourself.
“We do need to address some needs. The shooting, lack of shooting….at times. I think we will have soem very interesting conversations on having a little more of a mix, instead of some duplicates out there.”
Rockets general manager Rafael Stone took to the Ryen Russilo Show to share his thoughts on the matter, illustrating a clear difference in perspective.
“I do think you’re 95 percent of the time better off having redundant strengths than you are having a guy who fits, but isn’t as good of a basketball player. There’s trade-offs.”
This isn’t necessarily the first time that the two have seemingly been misaligned, as it pertains to the roster. Reed Sheppard has been another illustration, as the team invested heavily in him, taking him third overall in his draft class (ahead of even Stephon Castle), while Udoka hasn’t exactly given him consistent playing time.
Outside of the Rockets being without one of their starters, due to injury (in which case Udoka has been forced to dole out major playing time to Sheppard).
But even that wasn’t exactly vocalized by both Udoka and Stone, like we’ve seen here, regarding duplicity on the roster.
The two sides will need to get on the same wavelength, because this roster needs work. The team lacked outside shooting this past season and has ever since Mike D’Antoni and Daryl Morey left the franchise in 2020. And Houston needs playmaking guards (which also isn’t a new development).
It’s great to have formidable wings, but you need more than just that player profile.
