The Rockets on Sunday suffered their first injury of the regular season to a rotation player with starter James Ennis III going out with a strained right hamstring.
With Eric Gordon already in the starting lineup while Chris Paul completes his two-game suspension, Michael Carter-Williams will likely start Wednesday against the Utah Jazz, Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said.
Coming back from a sore right knee, Carter-Williams has been playing with a limit of 15 to 18 minutes per game. But with Paul out, Carter-Williams also plays as a backup point guard behind James Harden.
D’Antoni said he envisions Carter-Williams playing five minutes each half at point guard with the rest of his limited time as the starter at small forward before Gerald Green and possibly rookie Gary Clark check in.