Houston Rockets: Lessons Learned from Preseason

Houston Rockets head coach Ime Udoka got a chance to see his full rotation in action during preseason. Here's a look at what worked, what needs to be worked on and what limitations this young squad has heading into the regular season.

Oct 17, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets forward Amen Thompson (1) dunks against San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5) in the third quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images / Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

The Houston Rockets completed their trial run of the 2024-2025 NBA season on Thursday night. They ended on a high note, defeating the San Antonio Spurs 129-107 behind Jalen Green's 30 points.

In a year filled with high expectations, this preseason may have been Houston's most pivotal since 2020. Head coach Ime Udoka was able to assess what his roster can really do heading into the regular season as the team has its eyes set on a playoff push.

Lesson one: The Alperen Şengün and Green combo can work.

There have been many question marks flowing around Rockets twitter on whether or not Şengün and Green can work together as a duo. Green played some of his best basketball in March last season when Şengün went down, but was inconsistent most of the year when the star center was playing alongside him.

Green showed in preseason that he is still learning on how to get to his spots playing around Şengün, and when he does, the star guard can be the elite scorer Houston needs to get to the next level.

Jalen Green had it rolling in the @HoustonRockets #NBAPreseason win! 🚀

30 PTS | 7 3PM | 50.0 FG% pic.twitter.com/zVdvvaXNKI

— NBA (@NBA) October 18, 2024

On the other hand, Şengün also tried to find ways to help Green get into the flow of things early on in games. The big man has been working on his long range game in hopes of clearing things up in the paint to allow Green to use his number one gift: his driving ability.

If Şengün can knock down threes at a clip defenses must respect, things can open up for Green, further allowing this duo to coexist.

Lesson two: Amen Thompson may be just a forward with great passing ability rather than a true point guard.

Udoka gave Thompson the opportunity to run Houston's offense during preseason, and it wasn't pretty. The team looked stagnant on that end of the floor for most of the time Thompson was running the point guard position, and took away from what the year-two player does best on offense: attack the rim off-ball.

Thompson's ability to pass the ball is what set him apart from other prospects in the 2023 NBA draft, but it's possible the Rockets may have overestimated his abilities to actually run an NBA offense.

I asked #Rockets HC Ime Udoka about Amen Thompson’s PG stint in OKC, and what’s different about that role:

“Thinking. You’re now initiating for everybody, as opposed to being off ball and just playing.”

Says the teaching point is to get Amen to slow down when not in transition pic.twitter.com/ApCXP3DTlc

— Ben DuBose (@BenDuBose) October 11, 2024

It is very early in his career though, so Thompson could eventually learn behind Fred VanVleet on how to initiate the offense. In the short-term however, he may just be best at the forward position while VanVleet stays in charge of playmaking duties which bring us to lesson three.

Lesson three: VanVleet's impact on Houston's roster is second to none.

We got a glimpse of what the Rockets look like without VanVleet on the floor, and it was not pretty. When the veteran guard is out, they cannot move the ball and have major issues spacing the floor.

Houston has now learned that in the short-term, it can't consistently count on Thompson to initiate the offense. Once again, although he may be able to learn that in the future, him at point guard will not work this season with the team's eyes set on the playoffs.

This is where things get tricky.

In the event VanVleet does miss any time or is struggling, who can step up and take the reigns at point guard? The Rockets know they have an elite playmaker in Şengün, but he can't handle the ball 100% of the time.

Should they give the rookie Reed Sheppard a shot? Sheppard does have the passing ability to run an offense, but can he handle the playmaking duties while also providing elite shooting this early in his career?

Houston will have to wait to find out the answer to this pivotal question as its season officially starts on October 23rd against the Charlotte Hornets at the Toyota Center.

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