Dillon

Brooks

Thompson, Brooks and Sengun are back after sitting out Monday’s loss to the Thunder. Their returns mean that Reed Sheppard, Cam Whitmore and Jock Landale will head to the bench. None of those three are worth holding onto, with the Rockets close to full strength.

Brooks missed Monday’s game against the Thunder with a knee injury, but he’s off the injury report and will be back Tuesday against the Pacers. Cam Whitmore and Jae’Sean Tate could see fewer minutes with Brooks back in the rotation.

Brooks will join Amen Thompson, Alperen Sengun and Fred VanVleet on the sideline, leaving Houston depleted across the roster. Jock Landale will start at center for Sengun, and Adams will be the first center off the bench. Reed Sheppard and Cam Whitmore will man backcourt duties for what could be a lopsided affair.

Brooks lands on the injury report with a right knee contusion, which he suffered during Saturday’s loss to the Kings. If he’s unable to play on Monday, Cam Whitmore or Jae’Sean Tate (who’s a superior defender to Whitmore) may enter the rotation. Neither would be worth streaming in most fantasy leagues.

After shooting 1-of-6 from three in a February 22 loss to the Jazz, Brooks was 9-of-16 in wins over the Bucks and Spurs. The inconsistent offensive production is why he’s rostered in just 22 percent of Yahoo! leagues. Regarding fantasy value, the output over the past month (15th-round in eight-cat) has aligned with his season-long production. And that’s with Fred VanVleet and Jabari Smith Jr. missing extended periods due to injury. Brooks is more valuable to the Rockets than he is to fantasy managers.

After failing to crack double figures in three straight games, Brooks’ four three-pointers are the most he’s made since February 12 (four vs. Phoenix). The Rockets wing has made at least four on 12 occasions, but the offensive production hasn’t been good enough to merit being rostered outside of deep leagues. Also, with Fred VanVleet getting close to a return from his ankle injury, they Rockets lineup will have a different look soon. We’ll see how Brooks is impacted by that, especially as Amen Thompson continues to shine (Tuesday’s ejection notwithstanding).

Brooks hasn’t missed a game since the calendar flipped over to January, and that won’t change Tuesday despite initially being listed as questionable. The 29-year-old shooting guard will benefit from Fred VanVleet being out Tuesday, but Brooks still doesn’t have a ton of fantasy value this year.

Brooks hasn’t missed a game since late December, but there is a chance that he isn’t able to suit up against Milwaukee. Fred VanVleet (ankle) is also questionable, and he will likely return to the starting lineup if he plays. It’s unclear what the starting lineup will look like when everyone is healthy, but if both VanVleet and Brooks are out, Tari Eason will likely slide into the starting unit.

Smith Jr. is close to recovering from his left hand fracture and is targeting a February 21st return against the Timberwolves. It’s unclear whether he’ll knock Amen Thompson or Dillon Brooks out of the starting lineup, or if Smith Jr. will end up playing a reserve role for Houston. Smith Jr. has yet to come off the bench in his career, but the emergence of Thompson may change that.

Smith Jr. fractured his hand on January 1 and has been sidelined since then. It appears that he could be back shortly after the All-Star break. Amen Thompson has thrived as a starter in place of Smith Jr., but Udoka said that a decision on the starting lineup hasn’t been made yet. It seems unlikely Thompson returns to the bench, so it could be either Smith Jr. or Dillon Brooks that is pushed to a reserve role. Regardless, Smith Jr.'s return will take away some minutes from all three players, as well as Tari Eason.