What good is an advantage if you don’t use it?
Being fluid in Sanskrit is only so employable. Spending nine grand on an Alienware Area-51 Ultra 9 RTX gaming computer to play solitaire would be foolish. Having a playmaking center in the NBA is redundant if you’re not going to run a motion offense.
Come again?
That’s a slightly reductive way to frame the Udoka-era Houston Rockets. Alperen Sengun has had an impressive NBA career thus far, but he hasn’t accomplished enough to justify designing the entire
offense in his image.
Yet, that’s not what’s being advocated for here, either.
Rockets need to find themselves
Much of this also boils down to who Amen Thompson is going to be.
If he’s the point guard, some of this is moot. If he’s a wing (which he should be), the Rockets are getting plus positional passing at the five as well as the two or three (or four at times). If Reed Sheppard is the long-term point guard, the Rockets are cooking with motion-offense gas. No matter who eventually replaces Kevin Durant, the Rockets have the passers to do something interesting on offense.
This year’s offense has been interesting, but in an entirely different way. It’s been interesting in the sense that it’s strikingly rudimentary and buoyed far too much by offensive rebounding. Chucking up any old shot because you’ve got a relatively high probability of getting another one does not make for sustainable offense.
Luckily, the Rockets seem to be figuring that out.
The Rockets are moving the ball
For the 2025-26 NBA season, the Rockets have a 59.4 Assist Percentage (AST%). That ranks 26th in the NBA.
Over their last ten games, they have a 67.9 AST%. That ranks 8th in the league. The results have been tangible. During that stretch, the Rockets’ 119.2 Offensive Rating is a meaningful upgrade over their season-long 116.8 mark.
Beyond the numbers, you can see the difference, right? (PS: I’m watching games again. I needed a sabbatical). The ball is just moving. The Rockets have been significantly more fun to watch.
It makes one wonder what the Rockets have been doing. Why would they struggle to hunt mismatches and score in isolation when, outside of the 37-year-old, they’re not a strong isolation team? Yes, Sengun is a great isolation scorer on the standards of a five, but the Rockets need to have a strong offense on the standards of an NBA team. Why hasn’t Udoka leaned into their strengths?
Unless…
The Rockets are finding their stride
Could this be a case of Organic Learning?
(Shout out, Drew. If you know, you know).
Could this have been Udoka’s master plan? Instill toughness and defensive effort in the team. Let them figure out the offense on their own. It’s a high feel roster, and they’ll come up with something eventually.
Alternatively, it could be an unintentional benefit. Udoka’s laissez-faire approach to offensive coaching may have been a gamble on Sengun and Thompson’s development in isolation. By letting the boys figure it out, they independently decided to play the way they play best.
Ultimately, it doesn’t matter. The Rockets will be lucky to win a playoff series this year. They’d shock the world by winning two. Beneficial long-term developments are what matter for now, and the Rockets’ sudden improvement in offensive approach has to carry over into 2026-27, barring a blockbuster trade.
Otherwise, they aren’t making the most of their advantages.
