With their 2025 playoff seed (No. 2 in the Western Conference) officially locked up, the Houston Rockets held out numerous rotation regulars in Wednesday's road game against the Los Angeles Clippers.
The list of absences for nagging injuries or rest considerations included Fred VanVleet (sore right ankle), Alperen Sengun (sore lower back), Jabari Smith Jr. (sore left groin), Amen Thompson (rest), and Dillon Brooks (rest). Rotation regulars who did play, headlined by leading scorer Jalen Green, had limited minutes.
All of those aforementioned players had marquee roles in Houston's flagship wins last weekend over the Oklahoma City Thunder and Golden State Warriors, so none of those issues are believed to be serious in nature.