Houston Rockets' Last Two Preseason Games Should Tell Us More About the Rotation

The Houston Rockets have been off for the last several days after their 140-127 win over the Utah Jazz. Preseason usually is not a time to pay too much attention to stats and records, as most teams are rolling out a vanilla game plan and sitting their leading players for part, if not all, of the game. That doesn't mean that you should ignore the entire preseason.

For instance, even though the Rockets' newest superstar, Kevin Durant, has been through 18 preseasons, it was still encouraging to see him lead the offense in their win over the Jazz. Durant and Alperen Sengun especially seemed to be on the same page throughout the game, and whether during the preseason or not, they already look like a duo that will be hard to handle this season.

The Rockets' entire starting five scored in double digits and shot over fifty percent from the field, which was a direct result of Durant being on the court. Even so, the Rockets only played their starters for part of the game and ran basic offensive sets for most of it. That may change in the Rockets' last two preseason games as they plan to increase their starters' minutes and keep to the rotation they will have to start the season.

Expect to see more of the starters in the last two preseason games for the Rockets

In the Rockets' first preseason game, Durant sat out the entire match, Sengun missed the second half, and no starter played more than 26 minutes. Amen Thompson and Jabari Smith were the only starters to play over 20 minutes. The Rockets played every active player in their preseason opening win over the Atlanta Hawks.

In game two, which saw the debut of Durant, all the starters played into the third quarter and over 20 minutes. With the Rockets having multiple days off before preseason game three, the plan is to increase the starters' minutes and adopt a more regular-season-type rotation. Earlier in the preseason, Ime Udoka spoke about using the last two games against the New Orleans Pelicans and a rematch against the Hawks as a dress rehearsal for opening night.

Expect to see most, if not all, of the starters play into the fourth quarter regardless of the score. The Rockets have played 14 players in each of the first two games, but that number will be closer to eight or nine in games three and four, which is more like what you will see from the Rockets throughout the season.

The Rockets are back in action Tuesday as they travel to Birmingham, Alabama, to take on the New Orleans Pelicans.