Ime Udoka must answer question every Rockets fan wants to know ahead of playoffs

The Houston Rockets are going to the 2024-25 NBA playoffs.

It's been a long road. Fans who suffered through the Rockets' tank job deserve this reward. They watched some abysmal basketball. Now, they get to watch the Rockets win regularly.

How long will they survive the post-season? It's anybody's guess. The 49-win Rockets sit second in the Western Conference, but there's justifiable skepticism about this team. Fans are hesitant to trust a young team that wins games on the strengths of offensive rebounding, defense and pure grit.

All we know for certain is that Houston will be in the post-season dance. We don't know what moves they'll be busting out.

What does Ime Udoka have in mind for the rotation?

Rockets' playoff rotation not entirely settled

There are some certainities here.

Fred VanVleet, Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks and Alperen Sengun will start. They'll likely be joined by Amen Thompson, although Jabari Smith Jr. could still fight for his spot - either way, they'll both be prominent in the rotation. Those six will be joined by Tari Eason and Steven Adams.

That gives us a lot of clarity. We have a broad understanding of how the team's rotation will look when the postseason arrives:

But some of the more granular details remain unclear.

Some mystery surrounding Rockets' rotation

Let's assume VanVleet, Green, Brooks, Thompson, and Sengun start.

Will Udoka still trust his double big lineups in the playoffs? He'll likely give them a look, but does he have enough faith in a Sengun/Adams duo to see them through when they're struggling?

Where does that leave would-be small-ball 5 Smith Jr.? Will he or Eason be more prioritized? Will Udoka's rotation look like a meritocracy with so many mouths to feed?

That's before considering the backcourt. Aaron Holiday will probably be the first guard off the bench. That's fine. Holiday is a steady hand, but he lacks some offensive punch.

Could Udoka look to Reed Sheppard to provide that punch? Will he be willing to put Cam Whitmore on the floor when he needs scoring?

So many questions and so few answers. This is partly a product of the Rockets' unorthodox team-building strategy. After tanking for three years, they supplemented their young core with quality veterans. Now, players like Sheppard and Whitmore are struggling to get on the floor.

It's a price worth paying to return to postseason basketball. Udoka will likely lean on the aforementioned eight as much as possible and make decisions on the fly when it comes to Holiday, Whitmore, and Sheppard. Holiday figures to be the go-to option, but some situations may call for one of the young guns.

Rockets fans can't wait to find out for sure.