Earlier in the season, Mike D’Antoni was going with a shortened rotation that was causing guys like 34-year-old P.J. Tucker to play nearly 40 minutes on some nights. Given how long a season is, the Houston Rockets wisely went and got help at the trade deadline to help remedy this problem.
There was some jumbling in the lineup early on, with Danuel House and Eric Gordon swapping positions as starters and Ben McLemore taking over starting duties for 18 games when Gordon was hurt.
After some new additions and a big trade that landed Robert Covington, however, the team has gotten comfortable with a starting five of James Harden, Russell Westbrook, House, Covington and Tucker
Due to recent additions, Houston is no longer having to rely on Tucker playing such heavy minutes, even with Gordon’s multiple injuries so far this season.