Prior to the season, it was pretty easy to predict how the Houston Rockets' rotation would look like. Houston had drafted four rookies, but because they had at least eight active players on the roster over the age of 24, it was likely only two of those rookies would play regular minutes. Rockets head coach Stephen Silas confirmed Thursday night that the team was leaning towards going with an 10-man rotation. However, rookie Josh Christopher is making a strong late push to make the regular season rotation.
“It’s going to be difficult,” said Silas of cutting the rotation down after Josh Christopher led a fourth quarter comeback against the Washington Wizards. “We have a bunch of young guys who are hungry and work hard. Josh [Christopher] is as hungry and works as hard as anybody that I’ve seen.”
Christopher had 11 points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds, and 1 steal and was a +11 in just 8 minutes. Silas rewarded Christopher with an earlier entry into the game and double the minutes. He responded with yet another fourth quarter comeback (minus the win this time) and 12 points and 5 rebounds on 55.1% True Shooting. Christopher is mistake-prone and he can be inefficient at times, but he's a gamer and it's not hard to see why Houston drafted him higher than he was projected to go on most mock drafts. Since this is the only real time Houston gets to fiddle with lineups and rotations before the season starts, it's likely he'll see another small minutes bump in the next preseason game.
“Things are starting to open up for me,” said Josh Christopher after Thursday's game. “Like the gaps, I was able to penetrate and get in and get layups today which is not really like college. It's way different. I think the game in the NBA is built for me.”
This is not a pretty common trope you hear about players entering the NBA. The spacing does wonders for athletic slasher types like Christopher who were previously forced to play a condensed form of the game. The spacing is especially good with Houston's small ball unit with Usman Garuba at center. This unit is able to spread the court and switch defensively one through five and Christopher has thrived in this environment.
“Just wanting to win a ball game,” said Christopher when asked why that unit has been so successful. “Obviously the crowd is excited so I think that gives a little boost, especially after not having fans for a long time. Wanting to just play hard. It's fun playing with those guys for sure.”
Christopher is the furthest thing from a lock to be a rotation player. In fact, he's probably still going to suit up for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers this season. However, we've reached the point where, much like Kevin Porter Jr. last season, one trade or injury could open up minutes for him to play.
“Whenever my name is called, I think I'll be ready to go,” said Josh Christopher. “I think I got some tick earlier today. In the second quarter I checked in. It's just a progression thing. I'm going to keep on working to try and get better as much as possible. And when Silas calls my name, I'll be ready to go.”
If you're a Josh Christopher fan, I'd caution you not to get angry if the season starts and he's in the G League. February is going to be a month to watch for as the trade deadline could force Houston to make a decision on veterans Eric Gordon or Daniel House. This is the obvious path for Christopher to receive real playing time this year. In the meantime, Houston's coaching staff is set to have some tough conversations pretty soon as the 15-man roster deadline approaches.
“Those young guys are taking advantage of an opportunity,” said Silas. “Hopefully they make it hard to figure out what the rotation is going to look like.”
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