Changes in the third lineup? The Rockets two substitutes are temporarily leaving the team! Uduka has another appointment and will not be far away from returning to the team.

It is said that the Rockets have a strong lineup, but in fact they have been greatly affected by injuries. The Rockets should be one of the teams most affected by injuries this season. After all, the Rockets lost their main point guard Fred VanVleet before the new regular season even started. As one of the core members of the Eastern Conference All-Stars and Raptors championship team that year, VanVleet performed well in the Rockets' first two seasons.

Last season, although VanVleet's statistics declined in the regular season, he produced All-Star point guard-level statistics and performance in the playoffs. However, the Rockets were unlucky and eventually lost to the Warriors in the tiebreaker and were eliminated. However, VanVleet's statistics and performance were no problem.

In addition to him, Ethan and Finney Smith have both been absent for a long time. Ethan will be absent for more than a month. Finney Smith doesn't know when he will come back. There is no timetable for his comeback on the Rockets. In addition, two inside players, Smith Jr. and Adams, have been injured, and they are now playing with injuries. Therefore, other Rockets players should step up at this time. However, judging from the latest news, the Rockets do not seem to want to expand the number of rotations.

In recent games, the Rockets generally use 9-man rotations, and sometimes even use 8-man rotations. When the Rockets lost to the Nuggets in the previous game, they used a 9-man rotation. The starting lineup is Amen Thompson, Durant, Smith Jr., Shen Jing and Adams, and the four substitutes are Capela, Okogie, Holiday and Shepard. Outside of the nine players, the three third-team players including Tate, Jeff Green, and Davidson did not get even a second of playing time.

In fact, for Tate, the Rockets still give him a chance, but he has fewer opportunities this season, and even if he plays, there is not much room for performance. Although Davidson performed well in the preseason and even overtook Holiday to become the Rockets' third point guard, in the regular season, Davidson's playing time and tactical status were far inferior to the two backup point guards Shepard and Holiday. Tate and Davidson did not get many opportunities this season, so the Rockets also made the decision. They have sent Tate and Davidson to the Vipers of the Rockets in the Development League.

In the Vipers, both players will get opportunities to perform and share a lot of playing time. Davison was the regular season MVP of the Development League last season, and Tate was also the Rockets' starting forward that year. There is nothing to say about the strength of the two players. Uduka sent the two of them down this time just to let them play more games and maintain their condition in case of emergencies. After all, there is no telling when another Rockets player may be injured. At this time, the Rockets' injury list will increase, and the only players the Rockets can reuse are probably Tate and Davidson.

It is impossible for Udoka to send 39-year-old Jeff Green into the rotation, after all, he is too old. Therefore, the Rockets' third lineup changed. Two powerful players, Tate and Davidson, were sent down, but Jeff Green stayed on the team. Previously, two players like Harris and Crawford were sent to the Vipers of the Development League, so now the Rockets' third team does need to go through some tests. Only if they perform well in the Development League, the Rockets may recall and reuse them.

Considering that starting today, the Rockets will have 4 consecutive away games, it is not too far away that Davidson and Tate will return to the team. The Rockets should recall them and take them to participate in these 4 away games in case of emergency.