Stubbornly benching these two scorers could lead Ime Udoka to repeat disaster

Sunday evening was the culmination of all the hard work of the Houston Rockets for the last half-decade. After a lot of struggle and development, this core finally made their playoff debut together against a fitting opponent. Though the end result was not what they ultimately wanted, the Rockets do have some positives to take away from their 95-85 loss to the Golden State Warriors in Game 1.

The play of Alperen Sengun being one of those positives. His 26 points on high efficiency, nine rebounds and three steals were the highlights of a fantastic offensive night for Houston's center. But outside of Sengun's consistent play, there was not a lot of consistent offense to be found for the Rockets.

Credit the Warriors and their staunch defense for finding ways to limit Houston on Sunday. But as Ime Udoka and the rest of the team prepare for Wednesday's Game 2, there are ways in which this unfortunate trend can be reversed. These are obviously two strong defensive squads, but the Rockets can still find ways to get the upper hand.

The Rockets have to play Whitmore and Sheppard in Game 2

One of those ways would be making a slight tweak to the rotation. Look, it's understandable that you want to trust Jalen Green, Amen Thompson and Fred VanValeet to be the main secondary scorers around Sengun in a playoff setting. But when those guys are all having trouble at the same time, it's time to bring in some reinforcements. For reference, that trio went a combined 11-for-43 from the floor last time out.

Udoka will need to consider playing the likes of Cam Whitmore and Reed Sheppard on Wednesday, both of whom did not appear in Game 1. Whitmore and Sheppard both possess the speed and spark-plug scoring ability to give this team life during a slump, and put some needed pressure on the Warriors' defense.

Lessons are going to be learned for the Rockets in this playoff series, whether it ends in victory or defeat. Sometimes, the game plan is going to require younger guys getting their names called, and Udoka has to trust that guys like Whitmore and Sheppard are going to step up and provide instant offense like they have been doing all season.

It's easy to look at Houston's 85 total points scored on Sunday and feel pessimistic about their chances in the series, especially against Golden State. But we have to remember that each game of a playoff matchup can be wildly different from the last, and the Rockets have ways to shift their fate.