The Houston Rockets Summer League has been successful in a few ways.
The Houston Rockets currently sit at a even 2-2 record so far in the NBA Summer League at the time of this writing. In what has been a few games full of promise, but also concern, some questions loom over Houston.
Should Cam Whitmore’s Summer League performance be worrisome? Has Reed Sheppard solidified a high role in the rotation for next season? Did AJ Griffin earn a roster spot?
All of those have been questions asked around by Rockets fans over this past week, and understandably so. But, as you all know, this team was never what was being watched in the games, but rather certain players, hence the questions.
So, with that said, what did we learn from the Rockets in the NBA 2K25 Summer League?
Reed Sheppard was the right pick
It’s safe to say that Houston made the right choice by drafting Reed Sheppard third overall. Reed’s Summer League outing showed plenty of promise and even led to fans questioning whether or not he should’ve went first overall in the NBA draft. He wasn’t perfect, but he got the job done, and a little more. To be the only rookie to average 20.0 PPG on 50 percent shooting from the floor has to mean something, right? For a guy who’s predraft concerns were that he was “too small” or “undersized” offensively, Sheppard put those rumors to bed. Not only did Reed average over 20 points, but most of those came from inside the arc and in the paint
Now, by no means does that mean Sheppard’s size still isn’t a small concern, because it is. There were definitely sequences in which Reed would get bodied down low off of switches, or put Houston in bad situations due to not switching. On top of that, quite frankly, not being able to get a meaningful contest up on taller players was another slight issue. All of that should be fixed however with proper training and playing with an actual NBA team full of NBA caliber teammates/defenders.
That’s to be seen once the official NBA season starts up. For now, it appears that Sheppard (especially after his Summer League), will be a prominent bench piece for the Rockets. The passing is there, the defense is there, and the shooting, with NBA-level spacing and playmakers, will thrive as well. All signs seemingly point to a solid rookie season from Sheppard, who with other true NBA players, can definitely back that argument of deserving to be the first pick.
Houston got a guy, now it all depends on how they use him.
Cam Whitmore’s struggles aren’t worrying
This is something I fully believe in. Cam Whitmore came in as the defending NBA Summer League MVP and had nothing more to prove. This was less about seeing what Cam’s capable of, and more about letting him play in real games over the Summer to get better. Now, the eye test doesn’t help Whitmore’s case of getting better, but reminder, this was three games we saw. Three games playing alongside “fringe NBA guys” as Xiane said, which is a complete 180 from last year’s Summer League squad that included six true NBA players. While that doesn’t fully excuse Whitmore’s poor Summer League performance, it’s a part of the reason I believe there shouldn’t be an overreaction to it.
Last season, Cam Whitmore averaged the highest points per game off the bench per 36 in the NBA with 23.7. A lot of the reason for doing so was playing in NBA-level spacing and playing with guys who were better than him that drew more attention. When you have none of those, for a guy like Cam Whitmore, it’s going to be difficult to acclimate. There was no Alperen Sengun, Jalen Green, or Fred VanVleet on the Rockets Summer League team. Nobody drew the attention Cam did, and when you’re a shoot-first player, not having much real NBA talent with you will hurt. And that’s exactly what happened, Whitmore’s overall Summer League was hurt by not having a true system to run through.
Not many positives can come from Whitmore’s Summer League as he simply just underperformed. But, I still don’t believe the struggles are a sign to come this upcoming season. Cam Whitmore is too good and talented of a player to assume a three-game stretch to be how he is as a player. Whitmore is simply better than what we saw, but also still has much to improve on. No worries or conclusions should be made based off Cam’s Summer League, he’s already shown us what he can be last season.
AJ Griffin didn’t hurt or help himself
AJ Griffin has had an interesting Summer League. The former 2022 first round draft in whom the Rockets traded the 2024 43rd pick for on draft night played a silent role for Houston. The counting stats don’t really give a good look for Griffin at 13.5 points per game on poor efficiency. When you add in the subpar 3.5 rebounds a game and 0.8 assists a night, it’s hard to really see where Griffin lands on this Rockets roster. For a guy who’s career has been halted by injuries and limited play time, AJ really needed a good Summer League outing, and he had an okay one.
I will say, there’s definitely things to like about Griffin’s game. The defense, hustle, finishing at the rim, and catch-and-shoot talent is all there. But the off-ball action is a tough watch, and when Griffin doesn’t get going early, it just seems like he can’t buy a bucket. The first two games of Summer League are prime examples of Griffin struggling all game to get a shot in. However, against Detroit and Minnesota, we would see AJ play more fluently, making his shots and getting to the rim. It’s hard to look at the Summer League performance of AJ Griffin and say whether it was good or bad.
I’d say if anything, Griffin played well enough to earn a roster spot next season, but not a rotational role. With guys like Aaron Holiday, Reed Sheppard, and Cam Whitmore all likely ahead in the rotation, Griffin finds himself on the outside looking in. While anything could happen in these three months leading up to the NBA season, as of now, AJ Griffin’s Summer League hasn’t been enough to earn minutes.
With one more game to go this NBA Summer League for the Rockets, the true offseason and preparation for next season starts soon. These next three months can go any way considering the stacked roster for Houston, so we’ll just have to watch and wait to see.