The Houston Rockets enter this season with seven guards who could receive playing time throughout this season. They have All-Stars, rising young stars, role players, and rookies in their backcourt.
The Rockets have exciting young players in their backcourt but signing All-Star point guard Fed VanVleet in free agency has dwindled the opportunity for the young players to play.
Head coach Ime Udoka somehow has to divide up 48 minutes of playing time to give his guards the best chance of performing at a high level and making sure the team succeeds. Here is a start, bench, cut of the Rockets backcourt.
Start: Fred VanVleet and Jalen Green
The starting guards for the Rockets is a no brainer. They signed Fred VanVleet to a huge three year deal, being an All-Star and NBA champion, there's no question he's the starting point guard. Jalen Green was the leading scorer for the Rockets last year making him the starting shooting guard.
Fred VanVleet is without a doubt the best point guard the Rockets have. Last season he averaged 19.3 points, 7.2 assists, 4.1 rebounds and 1.8 steals but his efficiency was not that good — he shot just 39.3 percent from the field and 34.2 percent from 3.
Yet the Rockets are paying him $130 million dollars over the next three years because of his defense, leadership ability, and championship DNA. His playmaking and perimeter defense is by far the best on the team so he has to be the leader on both sides of the ball for the Rockets backcourt.
Jalen Green was the second overall pick in 2022 and had a much improved sophomore season from his rookie year. He averaged 22.1 points, 3.7 assists, 3.7 rebounds, who's efficiency also wasn't that good shooting 41.6 percent from the field and 33.8 percent from three.
Even though his efficiency was pretty low, he was still the Rockets leading scorer. With the Rockets adding some pieces and Green maturing in the league, this season will be the best season of his young career.
The Rockets starting backcourt statistically is an inefficient backcourt but they don't have much of a choice as they are easily the two best guards on the team.
Bench: Aaron Holiday and Amen Thompson
The Rockets have a lot of options for their backup backcourt where one is extremely obvious and the other is up for grabs. Amen Thompson being the fourth overall pick, he has to have playing time. Aaron Holiday is the only other guard on the team that has real playing experience.
The Rockets finished with a 22-60 record last season which resulted in them getting the fourth overall pick in the draft. They used that to select Amen Thompson who had a stellar season in the Overtime Elite league.
When a team drafts someone that high in the draft you have to play them. There are expectations around players drafted in the top five to become stars in the league. With that pressure on the Rockets, Thompson is going to play.
Thompson is 6-foot-7 and versatile. He can play as a point guard, shooting guard, or small forward but with players being drafted and signed, he is going to be played as a two guard. He can slash, defend, and pass at a high level.
Then the Rockets signed Aaron Holiday to a one year deal this past offseason. He is the other backup guard because the Rockets don't have much of a choice because he has by far the most playing experience out of the backup guards.
Holiday has been a primary backup point guard since he entered the league. He has been a good playmaker, solid defender, and good shooter in his backup role. Since Fred VanVleet has played around 37 minutes per game the last few seasons, Holiday will get around 10 minutes of playing time.
Cut: Kevin Porter Jr., Nate Hinton, and Jeenathan Williams
In regards to the rest of the Rocket guards, there are three players that will be left out of the rotation or end up being traded. Nate Hinton and Jeenathan Williams are young players and Kevin Porter Jr. is on the trade block.
Just a few weeks ago, Porter was arrested for domestic violence and in response to that the Rockets told him to stay away from the team. Despite is good talent, his off the court issues has caused him to be removed from the rotation entirely.
The other two guards that the Rockets have under contract are Nate Hinton and Jeenathan Williams. They won't be in the rotation, barring injury, because neither of them have a lot of playing experience in the league.
Hinton has played in 23 games in his career and Williams has played in five games in his career. That is not enough experience for them to receive any playing time that isn't garbage minutes. If they want to play they're going to have to earn it in practice.
