Houston Rockets: Is it time for the Rockets to embrace tanking?

John Wall #1 of the Houston Rockets Mandatory Credit: Carmen Mandato/Pool Photo-USA TODAY Sports

After trading away James Harden, the Houston Rockets had gone 8-4 over their next 12 games and the future looked bright. The team was working hard, playing motivated, and inspired Rockets fans all over that it was possible the team wouldn’t need a big rebuild.

Then everything collapsed.

Christian Wood went down with an ankle injury against the Memphis Grizzlies (the last game the Rockets won) and since then the team has lost 10 straight games, cut DeMarcus Cousins, suffered other injuries, and fallen to the third worst record in the league.

Why the Houston Rockets should embrace tanking

The injury to Wood has shown a fatal flaw in the team; a complete lack of size. When a team only has one Center that was signed from the G-league and is playing small ball the rest of the game with a 35-year old P.J. Tucker, it isn’t hard to see why the Rockets haven’t won since the first week of February.

After cutting Boogie to let him pursue a championship elsewhere, the Rockets are in the midst of heavy trade rumors for all of their veteran players. Executives around the league are anticipating the Rockets tanking away this year and are trying to pry away the key pieces that helped the team be perennial contenders.

With the team sitting only four games outside of a play-in spot for the playoffs and more than half the season left, there is plenty of time to make a move to get back in the playoff picture. The question is, should they?

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