Rockets Relied on Amen Thompson too Much During Series vs. Lakers

The expectation at the beginning of the season was that the Houston Rockets would be title contenders. With the trade for Kevin Durant, the Rockets were poised to make noise in the Western Conference.

As the injuries and consistent struggles in specific areas mounted up, the Rockets' season ultimately ended in the same spot as the year before: in the first round. There were still expectations to go farther than that, and it seemed possible with the matchup of the injured Los Angeles Lakers.

With or without Durant, the Rockets just faced big issues on offense. The young core just couldn't get it done. There was still plenty of improvement across the board from the Rockets' players. Amen Thompson developed into a star for the Rockets, and he holds a massive key to the team's success.

The former fourth overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft is arguably the most athletic player in the association and can be electric on both ends of the floor. Thompson's versatility and skillset is something that the Rockets can continue to build around, especially as he continues to grow and get better.

He's such an important player for this team and has many roles. After Fred VanVleet went down with a torn ACL over the summer, Thompson took over point guard duties and learned that job on the fly. He showed great flashes, but also never showed the natural ability during the season.

Thompson was great off-ball for the Rockets and when Reed Sheppard's role increased, Thompson shined. He's a great attacker and scorer in the paint and is also very important on defense. Thompson is the heartbeat of the playing five.

With that being said, the Rockets are obviously so much better when he's on the floor. The shocking part comes when he's sitting on the bench. While anyone would expect the Rockets to be worse when Thompson's not out there, the difference is so dramatic.

No Thompson, Big Problem

May 1, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets guard Amen Thompson (1) rebounds against the Los Angeles Lakers during the third quarter of game six of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images | Erik Williams-Imagn Images

That shouldn't be the case for a NBA team. Without their star players, any team's production goes down, but without Thompson for just a few minutes, the Rockets struggled incredibly. The problem is there's not much quality bench depth for Houston. The injuries made that look even worse.

During the first three games of the series against the Lakers, Thompson played 134 minutes of the 149 total. The Rockets were +7 in those minutes. In just the 15 minutes total he was on the bench during three games, Houston was outscored by 27. That was a -79.8 rating.

The Rockets had just 75 offensive rating and 154.8 defensive rating when he was off the floor.

Thompson already played the most minutes during the regular season, and a heavy workload was expected. However, the massive problems without him wasn't expected to be that drastic. After Game 4, the Rockets had a +6.2 rating when Thompson was on the floor.

Without him, the Rockets' net rating was -55.3. Houston was 61.5 points per 100 possessions better in this year's playoffs with Thompson playing.

The 23-year-old is capable of playing high minutes given his fitness and how young he is, but the reliance on Thompson to be productive as a team is too much. Having Durant on the floor would've definitely reduced those numbers, but he played in Game 2.

What would help is the Rockets having more outside shooters and others who can score the basket. When the Rockets get VanVleet back next season, that will also help. Thompson played well over 40 minutes in all six games and had a great series overall.

The 6-foot-7, 200 pound guard averaged 19.2 points, seven rebounds, 5.7 assists, 1.2 blocks, and two steals per game while shooting 49 percent from the field against the Lakers.

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