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Bench's Mark
Rockets seeking consistent production from reserves
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Damien Pierce
Rockets.com Staff Writer
HOUSTON -- Luther Head was taking questions about the Rockets' bench production from last season when he made one thing clear.
He's expecting the group to be a heck of a lot more productive this season.
"We're going to be better than last season," Rockets guard Luther Head said of the team's reserves. "We had a lot of guys that could do a lot of things last season. But we had trouble scoring the ball. We have a lot more fire power now in terms of scoring and guys that can create for everyone else. It's going to be good."
The Rockets are certainly hoping that this summer's flurry of offseason moves will yield a more productive bench.
Despite boasting an improved bench heading into the 2006-07 season, Houston didn't get consistent production from its reserves. Head proved to be a reliable shooter and Dikembe Mutombo and Juwan Howard both defied their age at times last season. But overall, the Rockets were forced to lean heavily on their starters.
That was especially the case in the playoffs. Head and Howard, the only two reserves to receive regular minutes, combined to average 9.6 points per game in the seven game series. The bench as a whole failed to score a single point in a Game 3 setback to the Utah Jazz.
With Howard gone and eight new players competing for spots in the rotation, the Rockets are hoping the bench will bring more consistent production than last season's group.
"The depth of this team is outstanding at all positions," Rockets guard Tracy McGrady said. "The most important thing is that our bench has to know that if the starters get off to a great lead, they have to come in there and maintain that. The starters can't carry the load all the time. They have to come in and provide us that energy they can provide."
The Rockets should have more options to provide that boost.
With three veterans -- Rafer Alston, Steve Francis and Mike James -- vying for starting time at point guard, the Rockets will have at least two capable guards waiting in reserve. The same goes for power forward where Chuck Hayes is competing for the starting job with Luis Scola. Once those starting jobs are sorted out, the Rockets figure to find two to three key contributors out of that mix.
But those are hardly the lone options. Bonzi Wells could potentially emerge as the team's sixth man, while Head has impressed the coaching staff enough in the preseason to earn similar minutes to last season.
Mutombo also figures to log minutes when the Rockets are facing an opponent with a big front line.
Several others are trying to get into the mix. Kirk Snyder and Justin Reed are trying to grab minutes and training camp invitee Mike Harris also has a good chance to make the team's 15-man roster.
In any case, the Rockets should be able to find a consistent boost from that collection of talent.
"That's the hope," Rockets forward Shane Battier said. "We do have a lot of guys that can step up and play big minutes if need be. But we still have a lot to figure out in terms of rotation. Who's coming off the bench? Who's starting? Who's getting those shots?"
That's what Rockets coach Rick Adelman has been working on. The coach would like to use an eight-to-nine man rotation, with Yao Ming, McGrady and Battier expected to be in the starting lineup. During the team's first two preseason games and a handful of scrimmages in training camp, he's been tinkering with different combinations to find his rotation.
"I'm trying to put people together," Adelman said. "It's important you get them out there. We
need to get Tracy and Yao on the floor. I'm going to try to do
that. I'm going to try to put eight or nine guys together."
Regardless of who ends up in that rotation, Head is confident the bench will be more productive than last season.
"We should be very effective," Head said. "I don't think teams will be able to focus on just Yao and Tracy. With the offense that we play and the number of guys that we have, we should be effective. Anybody can score the ball."
