The Rockets need to use unconventional lineups to win in the playoffs

The Houston Rockets ran into an inspired Spurs team playing its best ball, and lost by 12 points on Wednesday after trailing by as much as 22. While any lopsided loss against a playoff team this late in the season might be a cause for concern, the real problem for the Rockets is how thoroughly San Antonio exposed the absences of Patrick Beverley and Donatas Motiejunas.

Tony Parker was in attack mode after seeing that Jason Terry was tasked with guarding him, and Parker sliced through the defense to the tune of 27 points. San Antonio outscored the Rockets by 13 points when backup center Joey Dorsey was on the court during the first three quarters of the game and made a run by intentionally fouling him in the first half. The way the Spurs attacked those obvious flaws was calculated and vicious.

Since March 25, the day Motiejunas joined Beverley in the inactive list, the Rockets have allowed almost 106 points per 100 possessions, six more than before the injuries. That's a similar defensive rating as the Orlando Magic's. The Rockets have been winning on offensive talent alone lately, but the rotation Kevin McHale has been using won't cut it, not against good teams. The Rockets need to figure out a way to improve on defense while not getting significantly worse on offense, or their championship aspirations are in real danger.

While there are traditional options to explore such as starting Pablo Prigioni instead of Terry or giving rookie Clint Capella a shot, there are also some unorthodox options the Rockets should consider trying. All make the Rockets more like their rivals in Golden State.

If neither Terry not Prigioni step up their game, the Rockets could get creative and have Corey Brewer take some of their minutes in a three-wing lineup with Harden and Ariza. Ariza has used his length well in the past to defend point guards and while Brewer is not a shooting threat, he can provide a jolt of energy with his disruptive defense that could make up for his offensive shortcomings. If nothing else, it would help the Rockets deal with switches better, as they would have similarly sized players in the perimeter like Golden State does with Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston.

Unlike the Warriors, the Rockets' wings are not good at creating shots. Having only one perimeter playmaker on the court is not ideal, but if Josh Smith is also part of the lineup, the Rockets have another player that can initiate offense. For all his flaws, Smith is an underrated passer and ball-handler for his position and has proved he can run the occasional pick and roll both in his time in Atlanta and a few times in Houston. Putting the ball in his hands always carries the risk that he'll shoot it, but his mismatch potential is more valuable to the Rockets than a steady hand.

The problem at point guard is bad enough to severely hurt the Rockets' championship aspirations, but it's only compounded by their hole at backup center. Dorsey doesn't offer much on the offensive side and is such a bad free throw shooter that teams will intentionally foul him when he's on the court just like San Antonio did on Wednesday. The other option the Rockets have -- Clint Capela -- is somehow even worse from the line than Dorsey, having missed the first 15 free throws he has taken as a pro.

The Rockets' best bet to have balanced units when Howard rests would be to not play a traditional center behind Howard at all. Units featuring Terrence Jones and Smith as the big man duo have done very well on both ends in a small sample and should have enough length and rim protection to survive on defense. Ideally, this type of lineup would also cause mismatches on the other end, forcing opponents to counter by going small themselves. The Warriors have done that to great effect using Draymond Green, a forward with a similar game to Smith.

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