As injuries loom and bench depth becomes vital for postseason success, adding a veteran bucket-getter could transform Houston’s second unit into a lethal offensive force.
The Houston Rockets currently only have 13 standard NBA contracts on their roster, meaning they need to bring in at least one more player before starting the season. There’s been plenty of speculation of who that could be, but I’m hoping it’s more than just Jeff Green, as covered on Roundtable.
Depth is becoming increasingly more important for winning in the NBA. You need at least 10 guys who can legitimately play in the postseason. No more of those short 7-8 man rotations.
With that being said, reserving one or two spots for people who will rarely see the court can have a negative impact on the team. Especially when some of the main guys start to go down.
Just look at the Rockets last season, where guys at the end of the bench were forced into big games. Obviously that was due to injuries, but this team has a lot of older guys. Health isn’t a given with them, or anyone for that matter.
If (or when) guys start to go down, would you rather have Jae’Sean Tate and two-way players filling that hole, or would you rather it be DeMar DeRozan? I don’t think that’s a difficult choice at all.
I’ve already discussed how lethal he could be against bench units, here, and there’s no reason for me to change my mind on that. Once a scorer, always a scorer. I say it’d be crazy to not pursue that signing.
