1 Crucial decision the Rockets must make ahead of 2024-25 playoffs

The Houston Rockets have two games remaining in the 2024-25 season. Neither of them matters.

Sure, 53 or 54 wins look nicer on paper than 52. That's inconsequential. The Rockets have the second seed secured. They play the Lakers tonight and the Nuggets on Sunday. If they lose both games, they'll still enter the 2024-25 NBA playoffs with the second-best record in the Western Conference.

From the Rockets' perspective, these are exhibition games. Other than pride, nothing is on the line.

Why play like anything more is at stake?

Rockets must rest key players

There are plenty of reasons to rest the team's best players for these last two games, none more important than avoiding injury.

Some will bring up the rest vs. rust argument. That's valid, but rust can be mitigated with rigorous practice. There's no substitute for rest. If a Rocket gets injured, they're injured—period.

The Rockets understood this in their last game against the Clippers. Alperen Sengun, Amen Thompson, Fred VanVleet, Dillon Brooks and Jabari Smith Jr. all got the night off. Jalen Green played for 15 minutes. The team got destroyed, and nobody cared.

They should take the same approach in tonight's contest. As it stands, Sengun, VanVleet and Smith Jr. are listed as questionable. Thompson and Brooks are off the injury report.

That's fine. The Rockets may not be allowed to rest them if they have no discernable need for rest. They should minimize the time that any of their key rotation guys are on the floor. The Rockets must avoid injuries heading into the postseason:

Besides, resting these guys affords them a valuable opportunity.

Rockets should get a look at lesser players

It's an opportunity for some auxiliary players to shine.

That's what happened in their last game against the Clippers. Reed Sheppard had 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists. He was 7/14 from the field and 6/10 from long-range. This was likely Sheppard's best game of his 2024-25 rookie season.

Giving him a chance to deliver another scorcher would be nice. What if it's Cam Whitmore's turn? His long-term place with the Rockets has been under scrutiny, but even if they're looking to trade him this summer, two strong performances down the stretch could bolster his trade value.

What could N'Faly Dante do with 25 minutes? Is David Roddy a rotation guy? The Rockets have plenty of questions that they haven't been able to prioritize during a wildly successful 2024-25 season. Now is the time to see what they have on the back end of their roster:

In two more games, it'll be time to shrink the rotation.