Updated Houston Rockets roster, depth chart after Green, Carroll additions

The Houston Rockets’ tripling down of small ball grew by one more veteran player on Thursday with the signing of 11-year forward DeMarre Carroll.

One day after the Houston Rockets bolstered their lineup with 33-year-old veteran forward Jeff Green, they made the signing of former San Antonio Spur DeMarre Carroll official just hours before the game against the Golden State Warriors.

While Green is joining the team on a 10-day contract, Carroll’s signing is for the remainder of the season. The 6-6 forward brings a veteran presence to the team, including playoff experience, as he made the Eastern Conference Finals two times in the last five years (2015 and 2016).

What’s just as important as having two more stretch players on the roster is the fact that they can help reduce some of the heavy minutes that the starting unit is playing, particularly P.J. Tucker.

Already on Thursday night against the Golden State Warriors, James Harden, Russell Westbrook and Tucker all played just 30 minutes, with Green and Carroll stepping in for a 37 combined minutes.

Green seemed to fit in seamlessly with the Rockets’ system, nailing four of his five shots from deep on his way to 17 points and four boards. Carroll also made his debut in the game, showing some nice hustle play and rebounding in 13 minutes.

The Rockets seem to have found the squad they’ll be rolling with into the playoffs and it looks like this, sorted by their expected depth chart from ESPN:

PG – Russell Westbrook, Austin Rivers, Chris Clemons, Michael Frazier
SG – James Harden, Eric Gordon, Ben McLemore
SF – Danuel House, Jeff Green, Bruno Caboclo
PF – Robert Covington, DeMarre Carroll
C – P.J. Tucker, Isaiah Hartenstein, Tyson Chandler

With their new additions and finally a true identity, the Houston Rockets are starting to look more and more like the championship contender they were expecting to be coming into this season.