Houston Rockets: The one way Brandon Knight can crack the rotation

Houston Rockets guard Brandon Knight will be set to return to the hardwood soon but with a glut of guards in the mix, how can he crack the rotation? Look.

The Houston Rockets will have some additional depth out on the court with the announcement that Brandon Knight will make an imminent return from injury. Are you excited just yet? You should be as the centerpiece of the trade that sent Ryan Anderson and De’Anthony Melton packing is finally going to make his debut with this team soon.

The team has already assigned Knight to Rio Grande Valley Vipers — the team’s G-League affiliate — and they took on the Salt Lake City Stars on their home court last night in Edinburg, Texas.

Knight dropped 16 points and five dimes in 22 minutes of action in a 119-114 loss to the Stars in his rehab debut.

Knight has not appeared in a Houston Rockets uniform this season as he’s still recovering from a knee injury that invoked an infection, delaying his return back to the hardwood. Whenever the deal happened this past off season to bring Knight here, I had my doubts on whether or not he’d actually appear in a Houston Rockets‘ uniform.

I thought that either his health was going to be prohibitive from having him return or that Daryl Morey was going to figure out a way to package him in another deal to improve this team as they’re hobbling toward a gaudy 9-10 record and a four-game losing streak. Nonetheless, the latter can still happen.

But with Chris Paul, James Harden and Eric Gordon receiving the lion’s share of the minutes at the

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guard position, it’s going to be tough for Knight to be able to get meaningful minutes in the rotation.

But what will make him stand out from the rest?

If he excels on the defensive end.

Why? This is certainly an attribute that the Houston Rockets can use more of and if Knight commits to such a notion, the world can be his as he knocks the rust off his jumper.

Although his defense isn’t necessarily his calling card, this is something that I’d love to see out of him.

Knight netted a 116 defensive rating per 100 possessions with the Phoenix Suns last season and hasn’t had a season near the lower 100s since 2014-15 when he was with the Milwaukee Bucks, when he had a 103 DR for the record.

In comparison, Knight’s 116 DR would be ranked 7th among active Rockets players, a current tie with James Ennis. James Harden (111), Chris Paul (112), Clint Capela (112), Gary Clark (113), Isaiah Hartensten (114), P.J. Tucker (114) would all be ranked ahead of Knight.

The potential is there and the opportunity is ripe for Knight to get the job done but I honestly don’t see him getting quality minutes other than providing something different than the other guys on this team.

But first thing’s first, let’s see if Knight’s body can hold up to the rigors of NBA minutes and then we can figure what his role will be with the Rockets.

Next. Three unheralded players that could provide a boost. dark

Knight, 26, averaged 11.0 points, 2.4 assists, 2.2 rebounds with a shooting line of .398/.324/.857 through 54 games for the Suns in 2017-18.

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