The Rockets need to make better use of their garbage time

The Houston Rockets had no trouble with the Pelicans on Thursday evening.

This is no surprise. The Pelicans are having a nightmarish season. Most of their guys who would feature on a scouting report are watching the games from the sidelines. Dejounte Murray is a good player, but he won't singlehandedly carry New Orleans to many wins.

So, this was a bit of a "gimme" for Houston. To their credit, they responded accordingly. The Rockets stomped the Pelicans by a final score of 133-113. This contest was realistically settled in the first quarter.

So why didn't the Rockets get Reed Sheppard and Cam Whitmore more run?

Rockets squander opportunity in blowout win

In total, Sheppard saw 15 minutes of action. Whitmore saw three. Yes, three.

Ime Udoka could have put Craig Ackerman on the floor for three minutes and the Rockets still would have won this game by 20. OK, fine - maybe 18. Whitmore's lack of playing time in this game is inexplicable.

He made the most of his minimal opportunity. In Whitmore's three minutes, he attempted a pair of field goals, and he made them both. Sheppard shot the same number of shots in the fourth quarter, and he missed them both, but he did knock down a solid mid-range jumper earlier in the game.

What did the Rockets do with the fourth quarter instead?

Rockets make puzzling choices in garbage time

They handed the rock to Aaron Holiday and Jae'Sean Tate.

Nobody is knocking either player. Holiday is a sturdy, reliable veteran. Tate has an intriguing skillset. Neither is necessarily a part of the Rockets' future.

Holiday is someone they could take or leave. There are plenty of small guards who can shoot and play hard defense around the NBA. Holiday is a placeholder. He may finish his career in Houston, and he may not: frankly, it doesn't really matter.

Perhaps the Rockets are showcasing Tate for a midseason trade. That feels like a misallocation of their resources. Teams know what they'd be getting in Tate. A top-heavy contender like the Suns or Warriors looking for an eighth man should be interested in him. That's likely to hold true no matter how many minutes he plays in garbage time.

Getting Sheppard and Whitmore some NBA experience should be a higher priority. Even if this front office expects to move one or both for a star at some point, putting them on the floor should increase their trade value. Imagine if Whitmore had played the bulk of the fourth quarter and went 6/7 from the field instead of 2/2? Even if he'd went 2/7, there are no significant consequences. The Rockets need to use garbage time whenever they find it:

They won't play the Pelicans every night.