The Houston Rockets just finished up a run of games against the top teams in the Eastern Conference (and the Atlanta Hawks). Not only did they go three for three against the top East teams, but their top three players each had a turn willing the team to victory. Could the Rockets’ big three be the nucleus of a contender down the line?
Rockets’ Big 3 Asserts Itself Versus East’s Top Teams
The Rockets’ Eastern Conference run included two wins over the dominant Cleveland Cavaliers and one against the defending champion Boston Celtics. Then they even kept their foot on the gas as they drove over the Atlanta Hawks on their way back West (though it was a bumpy ride). None of the wins came easy, with final scores within five points in all four games. But that’s just how this Houston team operates, pulling out clutch wins despite its occasionally gruesome clutch offense.
There’ll be little respite for them either. Somehow, despite Houston’s recent wins, and beating them twice this month already, the Memphis Grizzlies remain startlingly close behind in the battle for the two-seed. Houston will play them again on Thursday night.
There is a longer-term takeaway from the run besides that these Rockets are a pugnacious regular season team though. The Rockets look like they have the beginnings of a legitimate big three. Three players who project to synergize with diverse skill sets. Three players who might one day, maybe not even in the too-distant future, lead the team to title contention.
The New Arrival
The big emergence during the trip was that of Amen Thompson. He netted a triple-double, scored a career-high in points, and rattled home a game-winner. Thompson’s incredible athletic abilities are impossible to miss. His feel for the game and attacking mentality put the finishing touches on his future superstar aura. Starting since the injury to Jabari Smith Jr., Thompson has played at a standard that would make returning him to the bench look silly. At times he already looks like Houston’s best player, carving out a path to superstardom for himself that might bypass learning to shoot entirely. Thompson looks like a future All-NBA-level player and could be vying for an All-Star spot as soon as next season.
The Man in the Middle
Center Alperen Sengun remains Rockets fans’ best chance of having a 2024-25 All-Star. Thompson might be coming for his status as Houston’s steadiest contributor, but Sengun scored in double digits in all four of these recent games and was a focal point of the offense as usual. Against the Celtics, held to only 11 points, he led the team with 9 assists. His scoring efficiency is down this season, but he remains a key initiator and has made great strides defensively.
A post-player like Sengun seems like an awkward piece to build around in the year 2025. Thompson’s combination of defense, transition dominance, and off-ball movement is just about the perfect start though. It bears similarity to the synergy between Denver’s title-winning duo, Nikola Jokic and Aaron Gordon. The real question for the Rockets’ big three is whether the third player can find his way to fit so snugly.
The Wildcard in the Rockets’ Big 3
Jokic and Gordon weren’t the duo that most people were focusing on after Denver’s title run. Instead, it was the Serbian MVP and his Canadian costar, professional Laker killer, Jamal Murray. In former second overall pick, Jalen Green, the Rockets’ big three has its own streaky guard playmaker.
Green was far from flawless over these four games. In fact, his field goal percentage was dragged down to 36.2% for the stretch by a couple of 4-16 and 2-13 games. Green remains the wildcard in Houston’s plans. An idealized version of Green is an excellent complement to Sengun and Thompson: a hair-trigger shooter and twitchy shot-creator who can operate in pick-and-roll or dribble-handoff with either of them. But the high volume, high-efficiency three-point shooting he exhibited over his streak to start the year has started to fall off somewhat. Such is a shooter’s lot in life. Even Anthony Edwards, who inexplicably turned himself into a Gatling gun from deep over the off-season, has days when the machinery malfunctions.
If Houston still has faith in Green reaching his ceiling, they may have the core of their next contending team already in place. They’ve been adamant that they have at least enough faith to last the rest of this season. Houston was quick to remove itself from trade discussions involving De’Aaron Fox. Fox subsequently removed himself anyway, with his heart seemingly set on partnering with the Spurs’ big number one, Victor Wembanyama, but Houston fans weren’t too torn up about it.
The Last Word
Houston’s fantastic regular season so far has undoubtedly been a whole team effort. Dillon Brooks just tied the franchise record for threes in a game. However, the team’s future will revolve primarily around the development of its three most foundational pieces. The post-season will probably showcase some growing pains for the young core. Whether the Rockets’ big three remains intact going into next season remains to be seen. In the meantime, fans should root for the homegrown trio to succeed. They’ve already exceeded expectations two seasons in a row now. Who knows what fruit the front office’s plans may bear next season?
Photo Credit: © Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
The post Rockets’ Big 3 Asserts Itself Versus East’s Top Teams appeared first on Last Word On Basketball.