The Houston Rockets dropped a highly-anticipated rivalry game against the San Antonio Spurs for several reasons.
For one, many normal elements of Houston’s identity were not present; San Antonio took the initiative on the boards and on defense to force the Rockets into difficult situations. The Spurs beat the Rockets at their own game, with Head Coach Ime Udoka saying as much in his postgame press conference.
However, the most difficult situation was Houston’s lack of creation and offensive organization. Turnovers killed Houston’s chances at victory, and the team didn’t have a steadying force to manage the ball and limit turnovers.
This was the main concern with this year’s Rockets team after the injury to Fred VanVleet. The Rockets saw promise in Reed Sheppard and Amen Thompson eventually developing point guard skills and helping to lead the team. However, neither has gotten close to the level of lead guard play necessary to advance in the postseason.
Postseason success will be the true measure of how this iteration of the Rockets will be considered moving forward. They clearly have built a team that can compete with any team if things are going their way, but they got an early taste of how things can look when the games aren’t going their way.
Generally, Houston creates offensive organization through the passing ability of Alperen Sengun.
Sengun has been the team’s leading assist man, leading teammates to shots at the basket or creating open shots from the perimeter. When everything is flowing well, and his teammates are hitting their deep-range shots, the offense looks like it can justify its placement as one of the league’s best.
However, when shots aren’t falling, the Rockets currently have no fallback outside of relying on Sengun and Kevin Durant to take and make difficult opportunities.
Durant has been out of rhythm for the past few games, leaving little support for the offense when Plan A fizzles out.
Against the Spurs, Sheppard stepped in to take some responsibility by having what might be his best offensive game of the season. He looked calm navigating screens, and he shot with confidence all over the court.
That could be a strong reference point for his development as the Rockets continue to get more out of their lead guards to prevent moments of offensive futility against quality opponents. If Plan A isn’t working by letting Sengun and Durant lead, Plan B is still in the works as Houston waits for Thompson or Sheppard to become a viable, full-time lead guard.
