Rockets' fatal flaw on full display in heartbreaking opener

As the Houston Rockets fell to the Oklahoma City Thunder, 124-125, in a double-OT thriller in their season opener, their infamous double-big lineup made its regular season debut, looking, at times, dominant against a bruising Thunder frontcourt.

Yet, when it mattered most, the lineup fell flat, and Steven Adams' inability to stay on the court for long stretches of time and maintain the same level of play proved that there is a fatal flaw latent in the Rockets' biggest weapon.

It appears that head coach Ime Udoka is poised to utilize this lineup much more often than last season, given statements he made throughout training camp, but its viability could be hampered by the limitations of Houston's center rotation.

Steven Adams cannot keep the defense afloat when the double-big lineup is played

In many ways, the double-big lineup was executed last night exactly as planned. Sengun and Adams combined grabbed 24 rebounds, with both Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein ultimately fouling out of the game as a result of having to deal with the threat of both centers in the paint.

Yet, on the other hand, there were some glaring issues as well. The team's spacing looked off throughout the night, and, while this was partially due to the team's adjusting to life without Fred VanVleet, the sheer size of their lineup was certainly a contributing factor.

Moreover, Adams just did not look like himself. During a roughly 7.5-minute stretch in the third quarter, Adams clearly got winded, and this became most apparent when he was not even able to rotate over to protect the paint as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander coasted to the rim.

The double-big lineup only works if the team can run a zone defense, and a zone defense only works if its players can rotate quickly and agilely to make up for any lanes that open from the perimeter.

If Adams cannot play long stretches of minutes on a night-to-night basis, the impact of the double-big lineup could be severely limited.

While the team does have Capela on the roster to mitigate some of this, he does not provide the same strength and rebounding to a double-big lineup that Adams does, and it is likely that he will be used primarily in a bench unit center capacity rather than a starting capacity.

Therefore, unless Adams can rejuvenate his energy, the team could run into significant trouble if they plan to rely on him more frequently this season.