The Houston Rockets Need an Offensive Backup Plan

The Houston Rockets are searching for a way to keep their scoring up, even when their first plan of attack doesn't pan out.

Dec 27, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun (28) and guard Fred VanVleet (5) react during the second quarter against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images / Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

The Houston Rockets have struggled with one thing throughout the regular season -- their offensive consistency. The issue has never been when shots are falling from beyond the arc. The offense can look outright deadly, and the shooting opens driving lanes for their top slashers.

The Achilles heel for this Houston team is their inability to find a secondary plan of attack when their initial plan fails. Alperen Sengun and Jalen Green are the two players who can create their offense in isolation. Sengun is more proficient at creating efficient shots in his opportunities, but neither player consistently dominates games and puts up a high volume of shots.

Against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the offense had stretches of looking solid. The Rockets found ways to create a few open shots that their outside shooters buried. The gameplan worked well throughout the game, helping the Rockets build a double-digit lead with less than five minutes to go in the fourth quarter. However, good teams need just a few successful plays on both sides of the ball to get their belief back.

Minnesota had a clear advantage over the Rockets in a key element: tough shot-making in the clutch.

The Timberwolves had two players who connected on some difficult baskets during the game's final stretch. Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle took turns making tough shots to help Minnesota mount a comeback. Edwards played the finisher, converting on a huge stepback three to take the final lead for the Timberwolves.

The players who can take over games and make difficult shots late are not consistent enough to be a true option when good shots are harder to come by. Especially when a team is rallying for a comeback, someone has to step up to stop the bleeding. Even one additional score could be enough to weather the storm and halt a march from behind.

Sengun is the closest player the Rockets have to an offensive force that can get an efficient shot attempt nearly every time he touches the ball. While sometimes he can have varying success finishing at the rim, his formula for scoring is something that is re-creatable even when nothing else is really working offensively. He proved that with a near 40-point game against Minnesota. He bullied his way in the post against every match up against him, including four-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert.

He didn't receive much help from his teammates outside of Amen Thompson and Fred VanVleet who scored 20 and 18 points, respectively. Jalen Green scored 14 points, but it took him 15 shots to achieve that point total.

Realistically, the team will need more reliable sources of scoring output whenever their first options aren't working well. Sengun worked well as a true first-scoring option, but he also was the only player to have any momentum in the clutch.

Outside of Sengun, the Rockets don't have a team that can operate well on offense if its jump shots don't fall. Houston will likely spend this season looking for secondary and tertiary offensive options to depend upon. The more varied and effective the Rockets' offense can be, the higher the chance they'll be able to recreate their success in future games.

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