Joe Johnson Details Rockets' Dire Situation at Point Guard Position

The NBA's worst kept secret this season has been the Houston Rockets' lack of a point guard. Better yet, the absence of Fred VanVleet, who has been the Rockets' starting point guard over the last two seasons.

The correction is necessary, because the Rockets already have a point guard on the roster in Reed Sheppard, depending on who you ask. In fact, there's a large faction of the Rockets' fanbase that bears the belief that Sheppard should be employed by Rockets coach Ime Udoka as the team's point guard.

What we've instead seen mostly has been Sheppard utilized as an off-ball guard as a reserve, off the bench. In fact, Udoka went so far as to compare Sheppard to San Antonio Spurs Hall of Fame guard Manu Ginobili, in addition to legendary Sixth Men Jamal Crawford and Lou Williams.

Houston has instead moved Amen Thompson from the wing spot to the point guard position and has remained true to the positional switch. Thus, Houston's need for a table-setting operator has remained throughout the entirety of the season.

Future NBA Hall of Famer and seven-time All-Star Joe Johnson couldn't help but notice the Rockets' point guard void in their last game against the San Antonio Spurs, taking to the Nightcap podcast with Shannon Sharpe and Chad Ochocinco to explain.

"It was glaring tonight," Johnson said. "It was glaring today. They needed Fred VanVleet. They need somebody who can kind of get everything together. Get them together when things get a little crazy, you need somebody who can calm everybody down and make sure we get a great shot. They was helter shelter alot of times out there, man."

The Rockets have struggled to get Kevin Durant the ball on alot of possessions all season. VanVleet even pointed it out himself.

Alperen Sengun has been the team's table-setter in the halfcourt, due to his ability to find open teammates. The issue Houston has faced of late is Sengun’s inability to draw double teams.

Teams have been able to single cover the Turkish big man and two-time All-Star center, leaving no man open. And Amen Thompson playing the on-ball guard has limited his offensive effectiveness a bit.

Thompson's freakish athleticism is best served when he's able to cut to the basket or roam the baseline. Or get downhill.

But with him bringing the ball up court and being the person responsible for getting the Rockets into their sets, he's at the top of the key more than one would like, which takes him out of the possession or forces him to shoot open three-point shots, which essentially plays into the hands of the defense.