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 will be without rookie SF/SG Chase Budinger for 2-3 weeks with a ankle injury. Budinger has played in 26 games (1 start) for the Rockets so far this season and he is averaging 18.5 minutes, 8.2 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. The Rockets will miss Budinger’s outside shooting off the bench while he is out of action.

21-year old small forward Chase Budinger has been solid so far this season for the Rockets. He has played in 8 games (0 starts) for the Rockets this season and he is averaging 18.5 minutes, 9.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. Budinger is also a really good shooter from three point range which is the skill that will get him on court often for the Rockets this year. 22-year old shooting guard Jermaine Taylor is the other rookie for the Rockets this season and he has played in 3 games (0 starts) and he is averaging 3.0 minutes and 2.3 points per game. He will have a hard time getting much playing time this year for the Rockets.

The Houston Rockets are a legit NBA Title Contender in 2008-09 which will limit the playing time of rookie power forward Joey Dorsey. Dorsey has only played in 1 game this season for the Rockets and he played 2.5 scoreless minutes. Don’t expect much from him unless the Rockets suffer a lot of injuries.

The Rockets got three players before this season started who will all play big parts in the teams’ very near future. It all started when the Rockets stole forward Luis Scola in a trade with the enemy Spurs. Scola moved into the starting lineup at mid-season and he was great for them. He will be the starting power forward for a long time in Houston. Scola played in all 82 games (39 starts) for the Rockets this season and he averaged 24.7 minutes, 10.3 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. Look for Scola’s numbers to improve with added playing time next season.

Carl Landry was the 2nd round pick of the Rockets and he really played well as a rookie. He played in 42 games (0 starts) for the Rockets this season and he averaged 16.9 minutes, 8.1 points, 4.9 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. Landry shot an amazing 61.6% from the floor and that is because most of his shots were from close range. Landry only shot 66.1% from the free throw line and that will need to improve in the future…but that’s nitpicking.

Guard Aaron Brooks didn’t get a lot of playing time but he looked good when he did make it out to the court. He played in 51 games (0 starts) for the Rockets this season and he averaged 11.9 minutes, 5.2 points, 1.1 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. This was quite a haul for the Rockets both for last season and in the future.