Rockets' Starting Lineup Lands Favorable Grade From Bleacher Report

This year's Houston Rockets' starting rotation looks significantly different than it did when Houston was in the postseason facing off against the Golden State Warriors. Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks are no longer in the fold, as both were used as assets in the Rockets' offseason blockbuster deal than saw Houston go all-in for Kevin Durant, solving their need for a surefire closer on a nightly basis.

Fred VanVleet, Houston’s starting point guard, is also out for the season with a torn ACL.

Again, the lineup is considerably different than the one they closed the season with. And Rockets coach Ime Udoka has made additional tweaks to the lineup that Houston started the season with, which was the tallest lineup in NBA history, featuring Amen Thompson, Kevin Durant, Jabari Smith Jr., Alperen Sengun and Steven Adams.

Adams was subbed out of the starting lineup, in favor of Josh Okogie, which was an initial head-scratcher but has since proven to be a masterful substitution.

Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes graded every team's lineup thus far and gave the Rockets an A. His assessment is below:

"The Houston Rockets ditched their ultra-mega-big starting group after two games, opting instead for one that is merely ultra-big by swapping out Steven Adams for Josh Okogie.

Both were effective, but Okogie offers more spacing than Adams (most players do) and allows for more dynamic perimeter defense. With him on the floor, Thompson doesn't have to spend all his time running the offense and guarding the opponent's top scoring threat."

The writer continued, noting how much differently the Rockets fare when Adams is in the lineup.

"When Adams enters the game, the Rockets become an offensive-rebounding monster who wins the math game by adding tons of extra possessions. The above lineup is merely adequate on the offensive glass, but it has a 100th-percentile effective field-goal percentage that means it's efficient enough to only need one scoring chance per trip down the floor.

Sengün's improved outside shooting and Thompson's growth as a facilitator pair well with Durant's bailout scoring game. Houston's offensive possessions are rarely pretty, even with the starters involved, but they get the job done."

The Rockets' offense ranks first in offensive efficiency and they rank third overall in scoring. However, they do oftentimes have bailout possessions, in which they get saved by a difficult Durant turnaround jumper.

They have the league's best 3-point clip, but they don't take alot of them. In fact, the Rockets have taken the fewest long-range shots in the league thus far.

All told, the Rockets were one of just eight teams that received an A grade from Bleacher Report, joining the Cleveland Cavaliers, Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves, New York Knicks, Oklahoma City Thunder, Orlando Magic, and San Antonio Spurs.