Following another loss on Wednesday to the Mavericks, Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni admitted that Houston’s lack of depth has been an issue for the club, as Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com relays.
“Obviously, it’s a problem,” D’Antoni said. “It’s something that I know that the front office tried to address. They’re going to do the best they can. No blame going around; it’s just the way it is.”
While we’ve focused at length on the players the Rockets lost in the offseason, including Trevor Ariza and Luc Mbah a Moute, the club was further hamstrung on Wednesday by the fact that Chris Paul, Gerald Green, and Nene were all sidelined with injuries. D’Antoni indicated that he expects Paul and Green to be ready to go on Friday, and Nene is getting closer to a return as well. When Houston gets healthier, D’Antoni will feel much more comfortable with the roster.
“Then our depth is pretty good,” D’Antoni said, per MacMahon. “We’ve got everybody a couple of rungs up. We’ve got rookies playing as the sixth or seventh man. They should be ninth, 10th men. They would be OK every once in a while, but when you rely on them, it’s tough. And it’s not their fault. They’re going to develop. Again, we’re just going to have to knock on wood and make sure they stay healthy.”
The Rockets recently signed free agent swingman Danuel House to provide a little more depth off the bench, but that likely won’t be the last of their in-season moves. General manager Daryl Morey has long been in the market for more help on the wing, something we heard again this week.
Houston had hoped that offseason additions Carmelo Anthony, Michael Carter-Williams, and James Ennis would help replace the production the club lost when Ariza, Mbah a Moute, and Ryan Anderson departed. While Ennis has been solid, Carter-Williams has fallen out of the rotation and Anthony is expected to be waived or traded soon.
They can try to get Corey Brewer on minimum deal.
The Rockets have a lot more to worry about than depth. How about making the playoffs?
The 8th or 10th man isn’t going to help there. Bench guy hopefully Treads water while the starters or the 6th or 7th man rests.
Your 9th or 10th guy it’s just there to hold down the fort while the starters rest. Those two guys are not the reason the Rockets are under 500.
But Melo was going to be the saviour….
Perhaps he can be traded to Pheonix for Ariza
It’s always an excuse with the rockets first it’s James harden is alone, then it’s we stopped hitting shots because Chris Paul was hurt, then it’s we need to upgrade at sf so they pick up melo, then it’s melo is the problem, and again it’s a problem that they don’t have enough players. They need to stop complaining and just figure it out already, they are the only team with more drama than the warriors this year