Aaron Brooks might be a shoot first point guard but he pushes the ball up the court and that is what the Rockets need. Brooks has played in 41 games (all starts) for the Rockets this season and he is averaging 35.5 minutes, 18.6 points, 2.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game. He has a nice shot making defenses have to extend to the perimeter which has opened up some things down low for the small front line of the Rockets.

Point guard Kenny “The Jet” Smith is more than just Charles Barkley’s partner on TNT NBA broadcasts. He was also the starting point guard for the 1993-94 and the 1994-95 Houston Rockets who won NBA Championships. Smith played in 468 games in his six seasons with the Rockets and he averaged 29.3 minutes, 12.6 points, 1.9 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.0 steal per game. Despite only playing six years with the Rockets, Smith is #5 all-time in assists in team history with 2,457. He also is tied for tenth in Rockets’ history with 467 steals. Smith was a very solid player on Hakeem Olajuwon’s team.

The Rockets are really happy with back-up point guard Kyle Lowry who is giving them instant offense off the bench this year. Lowry has played in 37 games (0 starts) for the Rockets this season and he is averaging 25.2 minutes, 8.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Lowry would probably do a solid job if forced into the starting line-up due to a injury to Aaron Brooks but the Rockets are more than happy with him in his current role.

The Rockets don’t have a lot of playing time available for their rookies but they have shown well when on the court this year. Chase Budinger has played in 27 games (1 start) and he is averaging 18.2 minutes, 8.0 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. Budinger is a good shooter so the Rockets will probably always be able to find him some minutes. Shooting guard Jermaine Taylor is buried on the depth chart for the Rockets. He has played in 12 games (0 starts) for the Rockets this season and he is averaging 5.8 minutes, 2.0 points, 0.6 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game. Taylor is buried on the depth chart.

The Rockets have waived back-up forward Mike Harris. Harris played in only 2 games (0 starts) for the Rockets this season and he averaged 6.0 minutes, 2.5 points and 1.5 rebounds per game. The Rockets shouldn’t miss Harris too much as he was buried on the bench this year.

Shane Battier has the reputation of being a good defensive player and he is a pretty good shooter from the outside, but, the Rockets need more offense out of the small forward position. Battier has played in 33 games (all starts) for the Rockets so far this season and he is averaging 32.9 minutes, 8.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. The Rockets need Battier to start shooting more and Trevor Ariza to start shooting less if they are to continue to play well as a team.