Assuming health, Jalen Green, Kevin Porter Jr., and Christian Wood are locks to be in the 2021-22 starting lineup for the young Houston Rockets. The final two spots around them, however, are likely up for grabs.
Wood played as both a center and power forward at times last season, so his versatility gives head coach Stephen Silas some added flexibility. For instance, if Silas wants to go big and avoid having Wood and his slender frame guarding traditional bigs, the Rockets could start Daniel Theis at center. Theis says he wants to be Houston’s defensive anchor.
In that scenario, either second-year forward Jae’Sean Tate or veteran guard Eric Gordon would likely round out the starting five for Silas.
From Kelly Iko of The Athletic, here’s how it stacks up now:
The first day of camp is still too early to make definitive calls, but The Athletic understands there has already been a grouping in scrimmages. The first team, who wore black, consisted of Green, Porter, Theis, Wood, Tate — and Gordon.
Kevin Porter Jr. and Jalen Green are the backcourt of the future. Daniel Theis and Christian Wood will likely man the frontcourt.
So who ends up locking down the small forward spot?
An emerging battle and more notes from camp, new for @TheAthletic:https://t.co/vnYUzgf6p5
— Kelly Iko (@KellyIkoNBA) September 29, 2021
Each potential grouping would seem to have its pluses and minuses. With Theis and Tate, the clear advantage is physical defense, but the question is whether that group has enough shooting to properly space the floor on offense. Last season, Theis and Tate shot just 32.2% and 30.8% on 3-pointers, respectively. Both are below the league average.
With Theis and Gordon, there’s more balance in terms of skills, but substitution patterns could be tricky — since reserve forwards expecting to receive minutes would then include Tate, Danuel House Jr., David Nwaba, and KJ Martin. By contrast, if Gordon came off the bench, he could slide in when Porter or Green go to the bench, and there appear to be fewer proven backcourt players in the mix for those minutes.
With Gordon and Tate, the Rockets would be extremely versatile and quick, and that arrangement allows Wood to use his athletic advantage against most centers. However, that means Wood would need to bang in the post on defense versus traditional bigs, and it also opens up the possibility that the Rockets might be too small — since Gordon is listed at 6-foot-3 and Tate at 6-foot-4 (though he plays bigger than his size).
Moreover, if Theis is Houston’s backup center, that could make it more challenging to find minutes for rookie big man Alperen Sengun.
Regardless of the final starting arrangement, it makes sense to effectively look at them as a group of six. For example, in multiple seasons with Mike D’Antoni as head coach, Gordon wasn’t a starter but was frequently in the lineup to close games (alongside four starters). Thus, the “odd man out” when games start may not be the same as when they finish, and it makes sense to give them all experience during training camp of playing alongside the locked-in starters of Green, Porter, and Wood.
Houston’s first preseason game of the 2021-22 season is less than a week away on Tuesday, Oct. 5 versus Washington. To this point, Silas has yet to tip his hand regarding a potential lineup for that game.
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