Rockets Will Lean Heavily Into Alperen Sengun and Kevin Durant as Facilitators

After three straight seasons of valuing rebuilding and player development for its young players over chasing wins, the Houston Rockets knew they were ready to bring in more veterans and become a more competitive team. That led Rockets general manager Rafael Stone to make several major moves in the summer of 2023.

The first move for Stone was to bring in Ime Udoka to take over head coaching duties after the Rockets decided not to renew Stephen Silas' contract. The Rockets also realized they had to bring in a more veteran presence on the court, and they did just that with the signings of Dillon Brooks and NBA champion point guard Fred VanVleet.

Brooks was brought in to lead the defense, as he had established himself as one of the best on-ball defenders in the NBA during his time with the Memphis Grizzlies. VanVleet was brought in not only to lead the offense but also to become the Rockets' leader on and off the court. Udoka, on multiple occasions, mentioned that VanVleet was like having a second head coach on the floor.

The Rockets saw immediate positive results with the addition of VanVleet as the Rockets had one of the best turnover seasons in franchise history and improved by a league-best 19 wins in the 2023-24 season. VanVleet has been the steady hand the Rockets have needed the last two seasons but now they may have to adjust to life without their point guard.

With the news that VanVleet suffered a torn ACL during a mini-camp in the Bahamas, the Rockets may be without VanVleet for the entire upcoming season. That means that the Rockets will have to make a significant adjustment before the season even starts.

The Houston Rockets should lean heavily into Kevin Durant and Alperen Sengun as Playmakers

In VanVleet's first two seasons with the Rockets, he averaged a career high of 8.1 assists in 2023-24, and although he saw that number drop to 5.6 in his second season, he was still the player who initiated the offense the majority of the time.

With VanVleet set to miss a significant amount of time, that means someone else will have to step up. The likely candidates to take over at point guard are Amen Thompson or Reed Sheppard, and even though both players should be even better than last season, neither is a seasoned playmaker. That leads us to the Rockets' two best offensive players for this upcoming season, Kevin Durant and Alperen Sengun.

Sengun, despite playing the center position throughout his entire professional career, has been known almost as much for his playmaking skills as for being a traditional center. Sengun is one of the best post players in the NBA, but his playmaking skills have been one of his most notable traits, dating back to his time playing in Türkiye as a teenager.

Even though Sengun's assist numbers have dipped slightly over the last season, he still averaged 4.9 assists and was the Rockets' central offensive hub. We saw even more of Sengun's playmaking skills during EuroBasket this past summer as he helped lead Türkiye to its first finals appearance since 2001.

Durant may not be seen as a lead ball handler throughout his career, but he has been a willing passer his entire NBA career. Durant has averaged over four assists a game every season since 2012-13.

The gravity that Durant draws is his best quality when it comes to being a playmaker, as even at the age of 36, he still draws double teams throughout the game. Now that VanVleet is out for the season, you can expect to see Durant operating more as a facilitator than first expected.

The VanVleet injury news is devastating to the Rockets' title hopes this season. There is no way around it; VanVleet was the calming force for the team in challenging situations and the leader both on and off the court. However, the Rockets have capable players outside of VanVleet who can at least try to fill the void his absence will create. Sengun and Durant will have to become the Rockets' playmakers this upcoming season.