Houston Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni isn’t ready to fully commit just yet to a fifth starter surrounding Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Robert Covington, and P.J. Tucker.
The leading candidates for the role are 6-foot-3 guard Eric Gordon and 6-foot-6 forward Danuel House Jr., with each having already started for extended stretches this season.
Speaking at Wednesday’s practice in San Francisco, where the Rockets (34-20) are preparing to take on the Warriors (12-43) on Thursday night, D’Antoni addressed the potential debate.
Via Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle:
Mostly, it’s [about] how you want the rotation to go, and who you want to finish the game. Just got to make it to where it’s kind of fluid and everybody gets the space and be able to defend as good as they can.
It’s really not set in stone. It’s just, how do the guys feel and what feels better. … You want guys to play when they feel more comfortable.
New #Rockets at #TXSN – For starters, Rockets still tinkering with Danuel House, Eric Gordon https://t.co/w5n1d9RiN5
— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) February 20, 2020
House was initially Houston’s starter at small forward, though he lost that job in early January amid an extended shooting slump.
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However, House has since bounced back in a significant way. In 14 games since Jan. 18, the 26-year-old is averaging 11.6 points (38.6% 3-point shooting), 5.9 rebounds, and 1.8 steals in 32.1 minutes. After scoring double figures just one time in his prior nine games, House has now done it for the Rockets in 10 of his last 14 games.
While House was never formally named a starter during that run, he did start several games due to injuries to Clint Capela (prior to his trade) and later Gordon, who is questionable for Thursday with a shin bruise.
#Rockets head into the #NBAAllStar break with a 116-105 win over the Celtics@DanuelHouseJr 17 POINTS & 9 REBOUNDS
He spoke after the game about the @HoustonRockets use of small ball#OneMission pic.twitter.com/kbm84fLmqm
— AT&T SportsNet SW (@ATTSportsNetSW) February 12, 2020
When House was initially pulled from the starting lineup, part of the stated rationale was to have a larger body available off the bench to spell Tucker and limit his minutes in the frontcourt. But now that the Rockets have three newcomers at forward in DeMarre Carroll, Jeff Green, and Bruno Caboclo, that might change D’Antoni’s thinking.
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It’s also possible that the Rockets could see the limited size of someone like Gordon at small forward as more problematic now that their starting center is the 6-foot-5 Tucker, rather than the 6-foot-10 Capela. If that’s the case, gaining extra height, athleticism, and defensive length by going back to House might be a consideration.
For the 2019-20 season overall, the Rockets (34-20) are 26-11 (.703) when House starts, and 8-9 (.471) when he does not. That .703 clip would be good for approximately 58 wins over a full season.
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The argument for Gordon, assuming health, would seem to be superior 3-point shooting and scoring. In his first 13 games since returning from right knee surgery on Dec. 29 (and prior to his shin bruise), the 31-year-old averaged 20.0 points in 30.4 minutes per game on 39.8% 3-point shooting. There’s also potentially more trust and continuity, since Gordon started at small forward for the Rockets in the 2019 playoffs.
Gordon said Wednesday that he doesn’t have a preference on starting or coming off the bench. He does, however, want a defined role.
I’m still going to bring it, regardless.
I just need to stay in one lane so I can figure out where I can go from there. As a player, it’s a totally different mentality when you’re starting or coming off the bench. We definitely have to get our roles set as we go on.
When I come off the bench, I can score the ball. I get the ball a lot more. When I’m in the game with both of them [Westbrook and Harden], I for sure guard the best perimeter player and become more of a spot shooter, because James and Russ do all the playmaking and ballhandling. It’s definitely two different roles.
D’Antoni said Wednesday that he hoped to limit Gordon to 25 to 30 minutes per game following his return from injury. At least in the short-term, that could be another argument for using Gordon off the bench.
Thursday’s tip-off from Chase Center in San Francisco is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. Central, with an exclusive national broadcast on TNT.
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