Houston Rockets Depth Chart 2019 Rockets Depth Chart

The Rockets made their mark on the trade market one season ago. They gave up a large portion of their bench players to buy the rights to Chris Paul. The transition would free up enough cap space to ink both Paul and James Harden to extended, long-term contracts. The team secured the two talents they believed they needed to compete in the West. A slight hiccup left the squad just short of the championship series, leaving them hungry for a further trip in 2018-19. A gift from the Suns also helped the team bring in Marquese Chriss and Brandon Knight. Carmelo Anthony was also swayed to sign with the Rockets, formatting a big three situation in Houston. Eric Gordon continues to headline the second unit as one of the league's best bench talents. The roster runs deep with experience and role players that have showed starting presence within other organizations. Digging from these players for maximum efforts might help replace the age concerns that some of these players carry. The team also was able to keep Clint Capela on-board, something that was made possible thanks to some of the lesser contracts that their bench players took on.

Top 3 Rockets Depth Chart Questions

Q: When does age become a concern for the team?

A: Chris Paul is 33 and Carmelo Anthony is 34. While Paul shows no signs of slowing up his pace of play anytime soon, Anthony has already partaken in the regression a player goes through as they near the final years of their career in sport. His stamina levels are down, and his basketball IQ has failed him at times. Thankfully, a deep bench can help bailout these older players should the usage be too hot to handle.

Q: What does Marquese Chriss do for this team?

A: Chriss was gifted to the Rockets for next to nothing. Chriss will take over Ryan Anderson's role and offers much more upside in terms of defensive and offensive contributions. He is still very young and can easily be a double-double talent if he is afforded heavy run in the starting unit. He is also a great compliment piece for Clint Capela, helping him crowd the paint and make it difficult for the opposition to penetrate inside.

Q: Is there contribution beyond the second unit?

A: Despite the talent built into the first and second units, there are some interesting cases dwelling near the third line of support. Brandon Knight was attached with Marquese Chriss as a flier. He was a starting point guard for the Bucks and Suns just a few years ago. A major injury marks his only setback, which prompted the Suns to cut ties with this player. He is only 26 and has plenty of miles left in the tank. His injury has fully healed and he shows no regression to physical capabilities.