Dave Hardisty

And perhaps it's because he's just that phenomenal of an athlete.

But KD, I believe, is third or fourth in the NBA in minutes.

Tonight he played 38.

Yeah, he looked a little worn down.

This was a three-game-and-four-night stretch.

Shingun isn't quite that high, but he's up there, and he's been dealing with the ankle strain off and on for a few weeks now.

The Rockets have really had to lean on their big guns, in part because of the injuries up and down the roster.

You know, the serious ones suffered by...

Fred and Steven and earlier DFS and now DFS is back, but he's playing only limited minutes.

And then Tari missed, you know, 20 or so games earlier this year and Jabari went through his slump earlier this month.

So at some point, the Rockets need to dial down the minutes and the usage for those big guns a little bit.

If not, rest them.

At least take the usage down, the minutes down a little bit before you get to the playoffs.

And the question will be asked, well, how do you overcome that?

How do you win games and compete for a high playoff seat in the Western Conference if you're going to dial down the usage for your best players?

The answer is you get more from your role players the way they did tonight.

You know, Jabari is certainly capable of doing more than he did the first two weeks of January.

Tari and DFS, I mean, a lot of it just comes down to availability.

Tari has been shooting over 45% on threes all year.

Reed Shepard is capable of more.