Updated Houston Rockets roster, depth chart heading into final 8 games

The Houston Rockets have been making moves all season long, with their latest being a long-term investment that made their roster even smaller.

With the NBA season set to officially resume on July 30th, the rosters of the 22 teams still alive in the race to become the 2020 champions are just about set. The Houston Rockets, as they’ve done all season long, made another couple of moves recently to improve their chances in the future.

With the way the Rockets structured their contract for David Nwaba, they are risking very little for a promising chance of the 27-year-old becoming an important piece down the road. While many seem to be upset that Houston decided to waive Isaiah Hartenstein to make this move possible, it makes sense when you consider what the Rockets are going for.

Houston is 100 percent in on micro ball, with their tallest player to receive minutes being Jeff Green at 6-8. Hartenstein, talented as he is, just wouldn’t be getting the minutes he deserves under the system concocted by Daryl Morey and Mike D’Antoni.

The Rockets have a golden opportunity to move up to as far as number three in the Western Conference if they play to their fullest potential but will have some tough opponents to deal with, starting with the Dallas Mavericks.

With James Harden and Russell Westbrook fully rested and Eric Gordon healthy, anything can happen when they return to the court in Orlando. Here’s how the roster looks as of June 2020, sorted by the expected depth chart from ESPN and CBS Sports.

*Update 7/7/20: Per Shams Charania, the Rockets have signed Luc Mbah a Moute to fill the spot of Thabo Sefolosha, who is opting to sit out of the resumed season. The signing has not yet been made official, however.

PG – Russell Westbrook, Austin Rivers, Chris Clemons, Michael Frazier
SG – James Harden, Ben McLemore, *David Nwaba, William Howard
SF – Danuel House, Eric Gordon, Jeff Green, Bruno Caboclo,*Thabo Sefolosha
PF – Robert Covington, DeMarre Carroll, Luc Mbah a Moute, William Howard
C – P.J. Tucker, Tyson Chandler

*Not available for rest of season

With everyone being well-rested and ready to go, there are no more excuses for the Rockets to come up short. Their season begins on July 31 at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN.