Mike Malone Says Rockets May Need to Pull Amen Thompson when Offense is Struggling

Is he right?

Oct 21, 2022; San Francisco, California, USA; Denver Nuggets head coach Mike Malone gestures against the Golden State Warriors during the second half at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-Imagn Images | John Hefti-Imagn Images

The Houston Rockets pulled off a notable victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday. The Rockets needed the victory, as they had lost each of their previous two games.

One of which was against the Charlotte Hornets, who are currently not a postseason contender. 

(If the playoffs started today, Charlotte would be a play-in team, with the tenth and final spot).

The other loss was against the Boston Celtics, who have been one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference, as their 34-19 record ranks third in the conference.

However, they were without both of their All-NBA players in Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum (the latter of which has been out all season), yet still beat the Rockets by 21 points.

As it pertains to the Rockets' victory over Oklahoma City, the masses have been quick to point out that the Thunder were playing without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams -- their two superstars.

Understandably, as their chances of winning increase drastically with both of them on the court.

(Or either of them on the court).

Houston was also without Fred VanVleet, Steven Adams and Amen Thompson, who are all just as important within the Rockets' ecosystem.

However, Thompson's absence during Saturday's game may have surprisingly had a positive effect on the Rockets' offense.

So much that Mike Malone, the former NBA champion coach of the Denver Nuggets and current ESPN analyst, took notice. Malone went so far as to suggest that Houston's offense may be better without Thompson's presence, in certain situations. 

"Amen is tremendous defensively. You look at Houston's troubles this year. In clutch situations.

They're 1-4 in overtime games. Ime's got his hands full, in terms of how do I employ a great young talent like Amen? And offensively, if we're struggling, he may not be able to be on the floor at those times."

The Rockets did seem to garner better scoring opportunities on Saturday without Thompson. And it wasn't from Durant bailing them out or playing hero ball.

In fact, he only had three shots in the first half of the game. 

Thompson's shooting inability limits what Houston can do offensively. At least based on how they want to use him offensively this season, as a lead on-ball guard.