Houston Rockets new-look frontcourt has one goal for 2022

The Houston Rockets finally moved away from Christian Wood to make some room in their frontcourt. Here is the goal for that group in 2022.

The Houston Rockets are obviously going to undergo some growing pains as the team tries to evolve in life without Christian Wood. Losing one of your best veteran players has a way of doing that to a team.

Despite the loss and a lesser return on value than some people expected, this trade does at least give Houston a bit more flexibility in their young frontcourt with several new names moving into key roles.

The most obvious first move is Alperen Sengun stepping into the starting center role. Unless Houston does something shocking on the trade front over the next few days, anything other than this happening seems like a major impossibility.

There is a mountain to like about Sengun and his game, and getting those Christian Wood minutes is going to help show Houston whether or not they are set at the five for the future.

After Sengun, the next obvious move is the rookie stepping into the power forward spot sometime early on in the season. One would think that this guy can start pretty early, and a player like Banchero starting at the four and learning quickly is better than leaving Jae'Sean Tate and Kenyon Martin Jr. out of position for much longer.

With the guys down low seemingly set with two players with bright futures, the Rockets are going to have some room to play around with their three. If they want a third guard on the court and can't get rid of Eric Gordon, Houston has some room to keep him on the court. The Rockets could also use Josh Christopher or Garrison Mathews in that role if they want to stay small.

Assuming Houston wants more of a pure forward in that third role, Tate and Martin look like great fits alongside Banchero and Sengun.

One way or another, the opportunities are plenty for the Rockets in these roles, and it should be nice to see Usman Garuba getting some more reps as well down low as needed.

The Rockets are going to have a lot of new faces on the court this season, and hopefully the frontcourt can figure out a way to gel above all else as this season will likely be filled with the growing pains associated with a young team.

The growth will come if the staff sticks with it, and then the team will be in a very interesting position to potentially compete in 2023.

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