Many of you have forgotten about Michael Carter-Williams. Or you’ve written him off. But he’s in an interesting situation now, as a backup in Houston to some of the league’s best guards. It’s tough to predict how many minutes he’ll get this regular season but he certainly has an opportunity to earn a pretty big supporting cast role, off the bench.
Of course, watching him as a rookie it was presumed he’d be a starter in the league. Maybe he will be again. But for now, the Rockets are a nice opportunity. Here’s the Houston Chronicle with more on him:
Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said Carter-Williams has looked ready to be a fill-in at the point if Harden or Paul are out, but that the play is still to have Paul work as the backup point.
“We keep either James or Chris on the floor all the time,” D’Antoni said. “We’ll still stagger James and Chris so MCW will be off the ball more than he does in scrimmages. That’s just the way our team is made up. But if we needed him if someone got injured or was out of the game, he would be the backup point. He can play off the ball, too. He’s in a good spot. James and Chris like to play together (in practices) because they’re still learning what they can do.”
The Rockets have another serious guard to bring off their bench: Brandon Knight. Though he still needs to get healthy, and that has been a lengthy concern. So for now, MCW has a very clear window of opportunity.
