While Houston’s starters battled to a standstill, a stagnant second unit and disappearing depth allowed Los Angeles to seize control and expose the Rockets’ thin playoff rotation.
Well, the Rockets’ season came to a rather disappointing 4-2 end.
Houston had real chances in this series. What they lacked most was trustworthy depth, which made all the difference against a Lakers team with guys who could actually survive non-starter minutes.
The Rockets averaged 13.8 points from their bench, which is rough on its own and, frankly, way below acceptable. Looking at the losses makes it pretty clear.
Game 1 technically got to 22 second-unit points, but 16 of those came from Tari Eason catching fire for a short 13-minute stretch and not missing. Outside of that run, the rest of the bench combined for six points. Clint Capela and Jae’Sean Tate each made one shot across more than 20 minutes.
Game 3 was even more telling with one made field goal from the bench on 11 attempts in an overtime loss. On the other side, the Lakers’ second unit put up 24, going on 10-of-19 from the floor.
Houston's starters had their moments, but they weren’t perfect either. Shots didn’t fall some nights, and there wasn’t much there to steady anything when it started to slip. The rotation tightened because it had to, becasue the alternatives weren’t holding.
The Rockets proved competitive at times- obviously they won two back-to-back, but the drop-off outside the main group kept showing up on both ends of the court
By the time Game 6 rolled around, the bench minutes shrank, the trust wasn’t there, and the margin was gone.
With five Rockets hitting free agency this summer, the focus turns quickly... If this series showed anything, it’s that depth isn’t optional. And this roster didn’t have enough of it.