Cam Whitmore’s DNP Streak Continues Amid Rockets’ Success

Despite a slight detour from success against the Denver Nuggets on Sunday, the Houston Rockets remain one of the hottest teams in the league as the 2024-25 NBA season comes to a close.

Houston has won 10 of its last 11 games — the sole blemish coming via a 39-point performance from Jamal Murray — and has effectively reclaimed the No. 2 spot in the Western Conference. 

Even better, the team is mostly healthy, only missing out on rookie Reed Sheppard due to a thumb injury, and is playing some of its best basketball as the postseason draws near.

One of the only recent hiccups for Houston comes in the form of second-year forward Cam Whitmore, who’s seen a stretch of DNP’s throughout the Rockets’ hot-streak. Despite scoring 10 points on 4-for-6 shooting in his last game, Whitmore hasn’t touched the floor in six-straight games.

One of the 2023 NBA Draft’s biggest sliders, it seemed a miracle when Whitmore happened into the Rockets’ hands at No. 20. But he’s seen a topsy turvy first few seasons in the big leagues.

In Year 1 he averaged 12.3 points on 45% shooting, looking to be one of the team’s brightest and youngest players. But it seemed his offseason progress didn’t go as planned for the organization, as he’s seen even less minutes on lower efficiency in his second season: just 9.0 points on 42% shooting in 16 minutes per contest.

Whitmore’s already voiced his displeasure with his lack of minutes earlier in the season.

"I contributed a little bit, but it doesn't really affect anything," Whitmore said after scoring 18 minutes from the bench in a January win over Dallas. "Doesn't really, you know, can't get me nowhere, but we'll see what happens. Just glad we got the win."

It seems the Whitmore and the Rockets could be headed towards a separation down the road. The team has quickly risen through the Western Conference ranks, and the former Villanova standout hasn’t been a major factor in that just yet.

His scoring spark has been needed at times, but he’s a player who seemingly thrives on rhythm, and simply hasn’t found that to this point in Houston.

The Rockets next take on the Utah Jazz at 8 p.m. CT on Thursday, March 27. Houston is two full games ahead of No. 3 Denver, and will look to fend off others til mid-April.