The Houston Rockets underachieved last season despite adding Kevin Durant to a team that had finished as the No. 2 seed in a deep Western Conference a season ago.
A lot of it had to do with the absence of Fred VanVleet, who missed the entire season due to a torn ACL, but overall, the team struggled to effectively move the ball and lock in on defense.
Amen Thompson, by trade, is not a point guard, and Reed Sheppard has not yet learned how to master the art of being a dynamic floor general at the next level.
Alperen Şengün is known to be a well-rounded center with a solid post game and playmaking skills, but he’s limited as a 3-point shooter and should not be your last line of defense for an elite defense.
That’s why the Rockets have Steven Adams and Clint Capela in the fold, as both can mix and match very well with Şengün.
A healthy Rockets team could have much better luck next season, as they also brought in Bogdan Bogdanović and Marcus Smart as key offseason additions.
Smart should significantly bolster Houston’s point-of-attack defense alongside Thompson, and Bogdanović could help stretch the floor for the Rockets’ offense and give Durant more room to operate.
However, the Rockets will need VanVleet to rediscover his pre-injury form, Durant to stay healthy and effective for most of the season and for Thompson to continue to get downhill with force in order for this team to take off next season.
Thompson is just not a threat from behind the arc. Unless he proves otherwise, the Rockets will just need to plan their offensive schemes on getting him downhill and finding him on cuts to the rim.
VanVleet’s return should go a long way in helping organize an offense that went through long stretches of stagnant ball movement last season, opening up cleaner shot opportunities for Durant and driving opportunities for both Durant and Thompson.
Ultimately, though, the Rockets’ ceiling is going to be determined by how well Durant responds to the rigors of an 82-game season, barring an unforeseen move Houston could make to bring in another star.
It’s hard to see this Rockets team overcoming the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs atop the West, but this team should be in much better shape next season and could reasonably win at least one playoff series in a deep conference.
