“[The] Rockets’ Ime Udoka finds the right formula by thinking small,” says Luke Mauro of 

ClutchPoints, referring to Monday night’s game against the Brooklyn Nets. But will these same rotation changes remain constant throughout the season?

On Monday, the Houston Rockets destroyed the Brooklyn Nets 137-109 at home, much thanks to some strategic adjustments by head coach Ime Udoka. The first noticeable change was the starting five- Josh Okogie started for the first time in a red jersey, replacing Steven Adams. 

Okogie was aggressive and physical throughout the game- a game in which the Rockets’ defense set the tone. Udoka had Okogie and at least one other man on Brooklyn’s star shooter Cam Thomas for much of the showdown, resulting in Thomas putting up a measly nine points- a huge dip from the 40 he dropped in the Nets’ prior game. 

The other two players who got more playtime in this game were Reed Sheppard and Tari Eason. Tari Eason surpassed some of his career marks with 20 points, including five threes, in the first half alone. Sheppard showed patience and comfortability, as he sank three threes- 15 points overall- and recorded eight assists, which broke his career record of seven assists. 

These changes alone showcased the strong depth on the Rockets bench that fans have been waiting to see. Taking Adams off of the court for stretches allowed for shooters like Sheppard, Eason, and Durant to move more freely and make cleaner plays. The Rockets finished the fourth quarter with 33 assists on 49 made shots. 

Does this mean Udoka is ditching the supersized-starters strategy? Probably not. Udoka adjusted his plan to fit the weaknesses of the opponent at hand, and will likely continue to do so.