Which Of The Rockets Young Players Could See The Biggest Leap?

The Houston Rockets are depending on their young players to take a leap next season and make some lasting improvements to help the team elevate to the league's upper tier. The separator between the elite teams and good teams is if the player development can turn their players into major factors. The Rockets are still looking to do the same for their youth.

However, players develop at different rates with different ceilings possible. As Houston's young players approach their ceilings, a few are more equipped to take a bigger leap for next season than others.

Reed Sheppard seems to have the most room to grow in his game, showing flashes of quality ball handling and decision making. His passing isn't reflective of a lead guard, and his scoring is more suited for a bench role at this point. However, there seems to be some untapped potential with his offensive capabilities, despite his defensive shortcomings.

He may be a candidate for the largest leap heading into next season. He has the most growth to make, but last season was his first consistent minutes in the NBA. It's entirely possible that he becomes a much more productive, consistent player than last season.

Sheppard is starting at a level below some of his peers and teammates. Amen Thompson has already established an elite skill in the league, while still hoping to develop some different areas to an NBA level.

Thompson's ball handling and scoring have been large topics of conversation, despite scoring nearly 20 points per game in both the regular season and the playoffs.

He may not be the candidate for the biggest leap, as the skills he's already displayed at an elite level may not have much more gears to reach. The skills that are missing may not see much development throughout his career, such as his outside shooting.

Some of Thompson's fellow young players have similar limitations in terms of their best skills not having much more reasonable room to grow, and their worst skills not likely to see much improvement.

Jabari Smith Jr. seems to be a career catch-and-shoot player with the ability to attack closeouts with a limited amount of dribbles. His growth could be shown in his consistency and percentages, but he likely won't develop some unexpected skill that raises him to the next level. Tari Eason is the same, making his value through defense and rebounding with limited offensive skill. It's unlikely that either could become legitimate, top scoring options for competitive teams.

Alperen Şengün is a player who might be approaching his peak in terms of skills, the growth he could show is by becoming more efficient with what he already has. Teams know his preferred areas to score or to create for his teammates. Ime Udoka could become more creative with how Şengün's teammates move around him to open things up more, but the two-time all-star may not be able to add more skills to his current bag, making it vital for him to find more success with his current abilities.

The return of Fred VanVleet, Kevin Durant, and Steven Adams should relieve some of the pressure from the team's young guys, but at least one of them must take some sort of a leap to help the team compete. Unfortunately, most seem like they are already approaching the extent of what they'll be as NBA players, even if they continue to make improvements on the margin.

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