Houston Rockets: Starting Lineup Set; Patrick Beverley To Start At Point Guard

Oct 16, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets point guard Patrick Beverley (2) dribbles against the Orlando Magic during the second half at Toyota Center. The Rockets won 108-104. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Campbell-USA TODAY Sports

The wait is finally over. It looks like coach Kevin McHale will go with the same starting 5 as he did in the Houston Rockets last 2 pre-season games of Patrick Beverley, James Harden, Chandler Parsons, Dwight Howard, and Omer Asik when they take the floor Wednesday night against the Charlotte Bobcats.

Same starters, Chandler Parsons said. That would be Dwight, Omer, Parsons, Harden, Beverley. Go nuts.

— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) October 29, 2013

While Harden, Parsons, and Howard were already penciled in as the starters, the point guard and power forward positions were yet to be determined. Now it looks like Beverley, who started 4 of the 7 pre-season games, will begin games, with Jeremy Lin taking the role of 6th man. Asik, on the other hand, will continue to pair up with Howard to form their twin tower frontcourt.

But the point guard combination has drawn attention, especially from those who saw it as a position battle between Beverley and Lin, when that was never the case at all. Beverley spoke about the situation before the decision was made for him to start:

“I accept my role, we have three proven starting point guards. All three have started here (Beverley, Lin and Aaron Brooks). Me and Jeremy know each other well. We play together well too. He is a phenomenal playmaker. I try to pick his brain as much as I can. He is one of my best friends. It makes our team that much better. It’s a great thing – it can go anyway. We are just teammates and we are playing well together.”

Indeed they have played well together, and McHale plans to use the both of them together a lot this season. Of the 57 minutes that the two played together this pre-season, the team accumulated a defensive rating(points allowed per 100 possessions) of just 81.4, and an offensive rating of of 94.8.

As far as the power forward spot, the tandem of Asik/Howard have dominated on the defensive end, with Omri Casspi, who surprised many in the pre-season, filling the spot off the bench.

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