The injuries to Rockets starters James Ennis III and James Harden, following the two-game suspension of Chris Paul, has helped force playing time to rookies Gary Clark and Isaiah Hartenstein. That could help them develop, coach Mike D'Antoni said, but at 1-3 heading into Friday's game, that was not the priority.
"They're good. I like them. But they're rookies," D'Antoni said. "We got to win. The leash is awful short. It is hard for them to come in and just off the bat contribute.
"It's really not fair to them. They need to be weaned in throughout the year.