The Houston Rockets spent last season looking like a team built to take the next step, only to end up staring at the same problem that has followed them for a while.
They entered the year with big expectations after finishing as the second seed in the West and adding superstar forward Kevin Durant to solve their scoring problems. For a stretch, it looked like that plan might work.
Houston opened the season playing like a real contender, then drifted badly as the year wore on and settled for the five seed. That set up a first-round matchup with the injury-ravaged Lakers, but a knee injury to Durant ended any real hope the Rockets had, and they went out in six games.
The offseason was supposed to clean up the obvious holes. Houston did make a move to improve guard depth, signing Marcus Smart and drafting Bruce Thornton. But one major issue still hangs over the roster.
The Rockets still do not have enough shooting.
That has been a problem for the last couple of seasons, and it has not gone away. Reed Sheppard and Durant are the only true perimeter threats on the roster, and that is a thin margin for error when Amen Thompson and Alperen Sengun are two high-usage stars who are both very poor jump shooters. The spacing just is not there.
That lack of shooting showed up in the way Houston’s offense looked last season: clunky, disorganized, and too easy to crowd. Smart and the return of Fred VanVleet should bring more floor general skills, but they do not solve the spacing issue. The Rockets also added Bogdan Bogdanovic, a player who has been a good shooter in the past, but he is coming off a down season and is 33-years old, so expecting immediate help would be a stretch.
Even in the regular season, Houston was only solid from outside. In the playoffs, where every inch matters, the weakness became impossible to ignore. The Lakers packed the paint, took away driving lanes, and forced the Rockets into a 30 percent showing from three-point range.
Durant was supposed to help ease that burden, and he did to a point. But he was also the only perimeter threat the Lakers really had to worry about, and they responded by doubling and triple-teaming him.
More shooting around him would have changed that dynamic. Houston still does not have enough of it.
With the top of the West looking tough again, the Rockets have not done enough to fix the flaw that hurt them most. There is still time left in the offseason, and the roster could look different by training camp, but they need to act fast.
In Other News...
Alperen Sengun Just Reached A Tense Point In His Rockets Rise
Alperen Sengun has already made the leap from promising young big man to consecutive All-Star, but the next step in his Rockets rise comes with a different kind of pressure. Entering his sixth NBA season at 23, he is no longer being evaluated as a prospect so much as a central piece of Houstons push to turn talent into real playoff progress, especially after a fifth season that brought some uneven stretches on both ends.
The Rockets know what they need from Sengun now: more consistency, cleaner decision-making and a steadier defensive presence as the young core tries to mature together. Marcus Smarts arrival in free agency only sharpens that expectation, giving Houston another veteran voice as it looks to build on recent postseason runs. For Sengun, the challenge is less about proving he belongs and more about showing he can carry the weight that comes with being one of the faces of the franchise. [Read more 🡒]
Fred VanVleet Just Sent Rockets Fans A Huge Message About Next Season
Fred VanVleets lost season still hangs over Houston, but the point guard is already looking past it. After missing the entire 2025-26 campaign with a torn ACL, he has been progressing well in rehab and is working every day as he gets closer to full basketball activity, a sign the Rockets may not have to wait long to see him back on the floor.
VanVleet now expects to be ready for Houstons first preseason game ahead of the 2026-27 season, which matters for a team that kept winning through injuries and still reached the playoffs. Even after a strong regular season ended with a first-round exit, his message to Rockets fans was bigger than recovery alone, with VanVleet voicing confidence that this group can make a real championship push next year. [Read more 🡒]
Rockets Title Hopes May Hinge On One Missing Piece Around Amen And Sengun
The Rockets have spent the early part of this build trying to answer a bigger question than just how good Amen Thompson and Alperen Sengun can become. The more interesting debate is whether those two can serve as the foundation for a title-level team if Houston finds the right structure around them, much like Denver did when it put its 2023 core in place. Sengun gives the offense a rare hub in the middle, Thompson brings the defensive versatility and connective play that can hold possessions together, and together they give Houston a real starting point.
What still hangs over the whole idea is the same issue that often separates a promising young team from a true contender: the Rockets need a creator who can finish games and bend defenses when everything tightens up. Rafael Stone and the front office are expected to keep looking for that kind of guard or wing, the sort of player who can take pressure off Sengun and Thompson and make the rest of the roster fit cleaner. Until Houston finds that missing piece, the ceiling feels exciting but unfinished. [Read more 🡒]