The Rockets Can't Get Enough Point Guards

At last count, there were five of them on the roster: Mike James, Rafer Alston, John Lucas, Steve Francis, and Aaron Brooks. Plus there's Luther Head, capable of manning the point, and Bob Sura, still under contract. What's even more astonishing--James, Francis and Brooks were all brought in this summer. Common sense said that someone had to go, most like Alston after his brushes with the law.

But according to the Rockets themselves, there's no problem whatsoever. For one thing, it's still training camp, and there's no such thing as real minutes yet. More importantly, though, is that in Rick Adelman's offense this might not be a problem. From The Houston Chronicle:

For much of the practice time, Adelman has had two point guards playing together. Even if someone is designated the point guard, the duties of both guards in the halfcourt sets are usually interchangeable. In the open floor, either could receive an outlet pass and direct the offense.

Rafer took it one step further:

"I think our offense, as long as you're making hard cuts and good picks, anybody can handle the ball, anybody can come off scoring

Houston has one of the league's best big men and is thinking title. They're not going to trot out some four-guard experiment, nor are these the guard to do that with. But as James points out, all these guys are good, and good player are good players. Why not make talent work for you instead of looking for excuses to run it out of town?

Previously on FanHouse
On Rick Adelman's Task