Houston Rockets: Eric Gordon to start, Danuel House Jr. to come off bench

The Houston Rockets just had their first game back with a very valuable role player. How will he fit into the lineups going forward with everyone healthy and available?

The Houston Rockets won last night and Danuel House Jr. had the best game of the season. It was just his first game back after having a contract negotiation issues with the team since the middle of January.

House had 18 points, including a few clutch plays. He knocked down a triple at the end of the game and had an insane block (that was called a foul, for some reason) on the defensive end of the court. Overall, he was 4/8 from 3 and is now shooting 48.3% from downtown as a starter.

In 13 games as a starter, @DanuelHouseJr is now shooting 48.3% from 3. He is 29 for 60 overall (!!!) from downtown in a sample size that is growing larger and larger.

He is just incredible in that role!

— Space City Scoop (@SpaceCity_Scoop) March 16, 2019

The big question by many was how he would fit into the rotation once Chris Paul returns from his one-game rest. Well, that question was answered today and it appears that House will come off the bench, according to Coach D’Antoni via Alykhan Bijani:

Danuel House will not start Sunday. Eric Gordon will remain in the starting lineup. Chris Paul will start as well after resting Friday.

Coach D’Antoni on House: “He will have a nice role. Something that he’ll embrace. He’s going to be a big benefit, no doubt.” #Rockets

— Alykhan Bijani (@Rockets_Insider) March 16, 2019

House’s role going forward

It’s an interesting decision by the Rockets to continue to start Eric Gordon over Danuel House Jr. They both have had success in that spot, so it’s mostly a struggle of having too many good options.

House is more of a traditional small forward, but the Rockets are far from a traditional team. Eric Gordon has been incredible this month and is finding his 3-point shot like he always does around this time of year as the playoffs approach.

MDA said that House will have a nice role that he’ll accept. I’m guessing he’ll slide into the sixth man role that Gordon has had for multiple years off the bench. He’ll still play around 25-30 minutes a game, which he definitely deserves to do. His play on both ends of the court is tough to ignore and can be a sixth starter, of sorts.

His added depth this late in the season is a huge plus for the Houston Rockets as they make a push towards the playoffs. It’ll be tougher for teams to game plan for a weapon like House with him playing so few games this year. You have to think the Golden State game might have ended a bit differently if House played some serious minutes.

Iman Shumpert might be the odd man out in this new rotation. He was traded for at the deadline, but hasn’t been consistent enough to earn more minutes. He’ll compete with Gerald Green for that role off the bench.