Marcus Smart is set to step into the Rockets’ starting lineup at point guard whenever Fred VanVleet sits out a back-to-back, according to head coach Ime Udoka, who also said VanVleet and Steven Adams will not play in back-to-back games this season.
The decision Monday? It was hardly a shock.
VanVleet, 32, sat out all of last season because of a left leg injury, and Adams, 33, spent the final 42 games of the regular season and the entire postseason on the shelf after left ankle surgery in January. For Adams, it’s been a rough stretch either way: in three of the last four seasons, he’s either missed major time or seen his year end early.
Houston is scheduled for 13 back-to-backs this season, starting with Friday and Saturday in opening week.
Smart getting the nod over Reed Sheppard as the fill-in starter is the part that may raise an eyebrow. Smart signed a two-year, $12.4 million deal over the summer and is entering his 13th NBA season. He also knows what it’s like to start for Udoka, having done so on the Celtics team that reached the 2022 NBA Finals.
Sheppard, meanwhile, has a role that Udoka clearly wants to preserve and expand. The third-year guard played in all 82 regular-season games and six playoff games last season, and Udoka made it clear Tuesday that he still expects plenty from him.
“Come in and be a secondary (ball) handler,” Udoka told reporters Tuesday. “Play on and off ball.
Be a spark plug every night. Obviously, (he’s) one of our best shooters and the threat of the shot, the way he’s guarded and who they put on him, that’s huge for them and for us.”
Sheppard started 21 games last season, but Udoka has a more defined lane in mind for the third pick of the 2024 draft, one that lines up with what he sees for free-agent pickup Bogdan Bogdanovic. Sheppard averaged 13 points per game off the bench last season and knocked down 40% of his 3-point attempts.
“Whether it’s that Malik Monk role or whoever it is you have to account for every night, that you know you’re going to get a certain amount of points, shots for. That would be a great role,” Udoka said.
Monk has averaged 11 points per game off the bench across his nine-year career. He was the runner-up for Sixth Man of the Year in 2024 after finishing fifth the year before.
Bogdanovic has also been in that conversation before, finishing in the top six in Sixth Man of the Year voting with Atlanta in 2022 and 2024. Last season, though, he appeared in only 23 games for the Clippers.
In Other News...
Marcus Smart Is Giving The Rockets A Reason To Believe
Marcus Smart didnt need long to make his case in Houstons second preseason game, turning in a lively all-around effort that fit neatly with what the Rockets want from him. In 24 minutes, he brought scoring, rebounding and playmaking to the table, the kind of veteran presence that can stabilize a young roster and give Fred VanVleet another backcourt partner who can handle the ball or function away from it.
The bigger takeaway for the Rockets is how naturally Smarts versatility can slide into multiple lineup looks if the shot keeps following him. His three-point work was encouraging, and Houston will be watching to see whether cleaner shot selection can make that part of his game even more efficient as the season approaches. If it does, the Rockets may have more than just an experienced defender on their hands. [Read more 🡒]
Rockets Opening Week Plan Sends An Early Message About Two Veterans
The Rockets are wasting little time making their rotation intentions clear in opening week. Fred VanVleet and Steven Adams will both sit the first back-to-backs to start the season, a move that says plenty about how Houston wants to handle two veterans it expects to lean on over the long haul. In Adams case, the approach fits a familiar pattern, with the team planning to manage his minutes and availability carefully after a lengthy injury history.
There is also an immediate ripple effect in the backcourt when VanVleet is unavailable. Instead of turning to Reed Sheppard, Houston plans to start Marcus Smart at point guard, giving the Rockets a more experienced hand to organize the offense while VanVleet rests. It is an early-season lineup wrinkle, but one that offers a useful glimpse at how the coaching staff sees the guard rotation unfolding when the schedule starts to tighten. [Read more 🡒]
Rockets Open Against A Mavericks Frontcourt Problem That Could Matter Fast
Opening night brings the Houston Rockets a Dallas frontcourt that is already short-handed, and the matchup is shaped as much by availability as by star power. Kyrie Irving is set to make his return to NBA action for the Mavericks, but Dallas is dealing with several injured players and the big-man rotation is especially thin heading into the game.
Dereck Lively II is out because of right foot surgery, leaving an immediate hole in the middle for a team that could use every body it can get. Houston has its own injury watch to track as well, with Steven Adams and Julian Phillips listed as questionable, so the opening-week frontcourt picture is still fluid on both sides. [Read more 🡒]