Ball Movement Is The Key To The Rockets' Offense

Near the end of the regular season, the Houston Rockets found some success offensively by moving the ball quickly and allowing each of their decision makers to have the opportunity to make decisions every possession. The ball zipped around the court to players who were also on the move, creating open shots at the rim and on the perimeter.

However, the Rockets reverted to isolation play and accepting double teams they couldn't consistently beat in the playoffs. This led to their offense often running into difficulties while dealing with player and ball movement from the opposing team's offense.

If the Rockets can lean more into the ball movement aspect of their game, they should be in a good position to return to their elite offensive play they had to start the season.

The return of Fred VanVleet figures to be a major factor for the Rockets' playmaking. While he isn't a high-volume assist man, he does help the team initiate its offense from the perimeter while taking care of the ball at an elite rate.

While VanVleet handles the ball security, the rest of the team should be able to use their creativity to make easier shot for themselves and each other.

Amen Thompson and Alperen Şengün each have shown flashes of making quality passes and helping to run the offense. However, each have proved that they cannot do it on their own as a full time playmaker. These players are much more effective when they can make the secondary action, receiving the ball after the defense is already off balance from the first action.

This type of secondary action helps create open shots for players like Reed Sheppard, Jabari Smith Jr., and Tari Eason, three players who were also forced to be part of the primary actions last year.

When players who aren't natural playmakers are part of the initial actions, the results were not always favorable for the Rockets.

Kevin Durant is a strong example. He was the team's best play finisher, but he often struggled when double teams came early and forced him to move the ball to a teammate. There weren't any players to then start a new action with the numbers advantage in the paint. A lack of shooting also hurt the Rockets in these situations.

If Houston can focus on moving the ball quicker than a defense can respond, paired with constant player movement, they may be able to create an efficient offense that can break down even the best defenses.

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