Gordon comes off the bench in his return

SALT LAKE CITY — With Eric Gordon back in the Rockets’ rotation after missing most of the past four games with a bruised shin, the Rockets were at full strength for the first time this season. That, along with the post-trade deadline additions of Jeff Green and DeMarre Carroll, led to some decisions.

The first choice was with the starting lineup, with Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni opting to keep Danuel House Jr. with the starters Saturday night and bring Gordon off the bench. The Rockets went into Saturday’s game 27-11 when House starts, but in Gordon’s previous game against the Jazz, he started and scored a career-high 50 points.

“He hasn’t played in a while, so we’ll see,” D’Antoni said of Gordon, who was hurt against the Jazz on Jan. 27. “It’s kind of fluid, see how he feels, see what happens, see how we go forward. It could be the same; it could change.”

Initially, D’Antoni said he wanted to limit Gordon’s playing time to less than 30 minutes, and that could be a possibility now with greater depth.

“We’ll see how everything works out,” D’Antoni said. “We added Robert Covington and haven’t looked at that that much. And then, coming off the bench, we’ll see if he feels comfortable. It’s all up for grabs. We’ll do whatever everyone feels comfortable with and how the team functions best.”

Gordon has come off the bench in 16 of the 28 games he has played this season, shooting better as a reserve, his 50-point game against the Jazz with James Harden and Russell Westbrook out notwithstanding. He said he does not have a preference but would like to settle into a routine down the stretch.

Either way, his return could make the Rockets’ offense more potent.

“It makes them better,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. “He’s a heck of a player. Obviously, he had a great game against us last time. I think it shows that although Westbrook and Harden are two of the all-time greats, that the other guys on the team they have confidence in, and Eric is just a heck of a player. What he does for them, as far as stretching the floor and making shots, allows everyone else to function.”

‘Small’ Rockets actually bigger?

With Eric Gordon coming off the bench in his return to the Rockets’ lineup, leaving Danuel House Jr. as a starter, the Rockets’ starting lineup is taller on average than when Clint Capela started at center.

Though that conflicts with the narrative of the small-ball lineup, much of which came when Capela was out and the Rockets did not play anyone taller than 6foot-6, Robert Covington was added since and is listed at 6-8, two inches shorter than Capela. House is three inches taller than Gordon, who was starting.

“Yeah, it’s (overblown,)” Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said. “When we traded Clint and started Tyson for a minute and a half, they go, “Oh, they’re all right, they got a big guy.’ We always played small. Then Clint was out, and we went smaller sometimes. It looked good. The numbers said it was good. And then the Covington (trade) presented itself, and why not do it? Our numbers are telling us this is the way to go.

“Height, we’d like everybody to be 7 feet, but we don’t have that luxury. We need skill players on the perimeter that help Russell and James maximize what they do, and what they do is a lot. If we can maximize it, we got a good a shot as anybody to win it.”

Even the Rockets’ second unit is taller than it was before the Capela trade, with 6-foot-5 P.J. Tucker typically playing center when Capela sat and House playing power forward. Jeff Green, listed at 6-8, has become the backup center.

“We don’t have a position,” D’Antoni said. “He gives us more length. He gives us shooting from that spot, whatever spot that is, five spot. He’s athletic, can make plays. He’s been there, been in the Finals. He gives us a lot.”

Houston is ninth stop for newcomer Green

Rockets center Jeff Green is now the second man (along with Joe Johnson) to have played for the Jazz and Rockets in the same season. He is one of seven active players to have played for nine or more NBA teams, with only Ish Smith having played for more

(11.) Of those seven players, four — Smith, Green, Garrett Temple and Trevor Ariza — have played for the Rockets.

Green played 24½ minutes in his first game with the Rockets, having not played at all since Dec. 23, but he said he knew he was in shape to step in as needed.

“I just came ready to play,” Green said. “I mean, I’m in shape, so I just tried to do whatever I needed to do to help the team win. “I have a beautiful wife who allowed me to do what I needed to do. … I have great trainers at home, and when I was home for this time, my wife allowed to me to really focus on what I needed to do.”