RealGM

The Rockets upcoming schedule is going to be brutal. We have a game Saturday then not another until Christmas, which kicks off a 4 games/5 nights run, followed the next week by a 3/4 then 4/5's over the following two weeks.

I hate 4/5's. There is no reason for scheduling them like that, especially considering how long the season is dragged out.

David Stern can't talk about teams like the Spurs hurting the quality of the product by sitting players when you schedule 4 games in 5 nights. That is exactly how you diminish the product. No team is at their best by the end of those runs.

We may have the youngest team in the League, but not even our guys should put their legs through that. McHale is really going to have to learn to trust the bench a lot more over the next month. We can't have Harden, Lin & Parsons out there 35-42 minutes a night during this stretch.

I'm mostly concerned about Parsons and Harden. They've been getting the lion's share of minutes, and it's starting to look like it's affecting Parsons.

Yeah, it's showing with Parsons. I'd be just fine with them resting him for a couple weeks to get that shoulder back to full strength.

Stern would freak out if we intentionally rested White LBJ, tho. NBA ratings would tank.

What I've been wondering throughout the season was if Morris or T.Jones could get some time at SF so we could reduce Parsons minutes. I think both would be less of a liability on defense at SF compared to PF, and both I believe can develop a good enough shot and slashing game to be effective there.

Basically I've always looked at this season as a season to grow the youngsters, so giving Delfino those back-up SF minutes doesn't really sit well with me. With PatPat being out however it somewhat complicates things.

If we come out of that stretch w/ a .500 record still....well then color me more optimistic about our current slim playoff chances.

If we come out of that stretch w/ a .500 record still....well then color me more optimistic about our current slim playoff chances.