Rockets Should Lean into New Lineup Strength Following Fred VanVleet's Injury

Veteran point guard Fred VanVleet has been the Rockets' starting point guard for the majority of the last two seasons, starting in all 133 of his regular season games with the organization. VanVleet was a major factor in bringing the Rockets back to the postseason in 2024-2025, and became the second-leading scorer for the team in their first-round series against the Golden State Warriors, averaging 18.7 points per game.

Following the taste of success last season, the Rockets went all in for a championship hunt in 2026, acquiring 15-time All-Star Kevin Durant, and veterans Clint Capela, Dorian Finney-Smith and Josh Okogie to help solidify the roster.

Everything appeared to be setting up perfectly for Houston's playoff aspirations, until disaster struck in the form of injury. VanVleet tore his ACL in an offseason workout, potentially sidelining him for the entire 2025-2026 season.

The Rockets' point guard depth was already shaky before the veteran's injury, primarily relying on spot-minute guard Aaron Holiday and unproven second-year guard Reed Sheppard. There's a chance one of those two take VanVleet's starting spot, but there's an alternative option the Rockets could lean into that adapts their identity.

VanVleet's strength was providing a half-court lead guard presence for the team, familiarity in the pick-and-roll and ability to shoot off the dribble. It's unclear if Sheppard and Holiday could recreate that, so why not lean into a completely different strategy using less guards?

Last season, Houston deployed lineups with oversized, tough defenders at every position, heavily utilizing wings Amen Thompson and Tari Eason to terrorize undersized ball-handlers. Now with the additions of Durant and Finney-Smith –– along with a potential double-big lineup –– the Rockets can further their size even more.

Potential starting lineup:

G: Amen Thompson
G: Kevin Durant
F: Tari Eason / Dorian Finney-Smith
F: Jabari Smith Jr.
C: Alperen Sengun

If the Rockets were to deploy this starting lineup, every player would be at least 6-foot-7, with three player eclipsing 6-foot-10. Even Thompson and Eason –– who stand at 6-foot-7 and 6-foot-8 respectively –– have wingspans of 7-foot and 7-foot-2-inches.

While Eason and Finney-Smith aren't the ball-handlers that VanVleet is, they're both still capable spot-up shooters and rotational offensive players.

The unit would be freakishly athletic considering positional size, and could use transition scoring to an elite advantage, fully leaning into a fast-paced unit due to the loss of VanVleet.