The Rockets have filled their final roster spot. To some fans’ dismay, they declined to use the spot on guard depth, instead doubling down on lockdown defense. The Rockets’ plan in 2025-26 is simple: they plan to guard players, not to play guards.
Rockets’ Final Roster Spot Doubles Down on Lockdown Defense
The Rockets have added the 26-year-old defensive wing Josh Okogie on a $3.1 million, one-year deal. In his career as a defensive role-player, he has played 416 regular-season games, at 19.1 minutes per game, and 15 playoff games, at 13.7 minutes per game. Okogie has always been listed as a shooting guard, but really plays more like a defensive forward. Last year was his best-ever shooting season. He achieved an overall three-point percentage of 34.8% on 2.3 attempts per game between the Suns and Hornets. For his career, it sits at 29.9%.
Despite those limitations, the Rockets’ major offseason acquisition presumably thought highly of him. Before the Rockets, Kevin Durant and Okogie were teammates for a season and a half with the Phoenix Suns. Durant must have certainly been consulted on the signing to some degree.
The fans, who wanted to use the roster spot on guard or shooting depth, were not. It’s very possible the Rockets wind up playing a rotation in which the only guards receiving regular minutes are Fred VanVleet and the 6’7″ wing/guard hybrid Amen Thompson. Granted, the 15th man wasn’t likely to change that. They will certainly experiment with the readiness of Reed Sheppard, but the funding for such experiments could be cut at any moment. Depending on the matchups, they will inevitably chuck some minutes the way of returning veteran Aaron Holiday as well.
The Rockets’ Ball Handlers
The principal offensive backcourt responsibilities will be divided among just three players: VanVleet, Thompson, and Durant. Durant certainly has the ball-handling acumen to get into his own offense. That’s easy enough when his own offense is a couple of dribbles into a heavily contested, but very high percentage pull-up midranger. Creating for others is something Durant does less of now that he’s lost some of his athleticism. He no longer blows by people enough to facilitate much of a drive and kick game. But opponents may send doubles just to get him off the ball.
Thompson will be the Rockets’ primary source of on-ball blow-bys this season, now that they’ve moved on from the jet-fueled Jalen Green. But, Thompson’s handle and outside shooting will have to have improved significantly over the offseason for that to be a meaningful source of offense. Last season, he was at his most effective either on off-ball cuts or in transition. Half-court isolation or pick-and-roll attempts simply invite the defense to sag too far off him. His handle isn’t tight enough to make it through the crowd of defenders waiting for him in the paint.
Only VanVleet is anything resembling a real point guard. That’s true even if Holiday and Sheppard are included. While serviceable shooters, they are both much more suited to off-ball roles, posing little to no pressure as threats to drive.
A Playmaking Frontcourt?
The Rockets do have some other skilled front-court players who will help out with their lack of playmaking. Tari Eason is one. He’s not a sensational ball-handler, by any means, but he can chip in with some drive-and-kick tenacity here and there. The more prominent example is the Rockets’ All-Star center, Alperen Sengun.
The problem for the Rockets is that Sengun’s Nikola Jokic comparisons are overblown. From an overall talent perspective, that’s inevitable when comparing anyone to a three-time MVP. However, Sengun’s playmaking instincts aren’t really very reminiscent of Jokic’s at all. Sengun definitely likes to pass, and the flashier the better. Unfortunately, if his preferred no-look, behind-the-back bounce pass is cut off, he’s actually surprisingly uncreative in how he connects with the open man. It’s possible that some of that creativity has been deliberately suppressed by a coaching staff that favors a low-risk offensive style.
A Sengun-led offense might look better with more spacing than the Rockets had last season. Just adding Durant doesn’t do enough to fix that, though. The Rockets signing Josh Okogie does absolutely nothing to fix that. A swap of Dillon Brooks for Dorian Finney-Smith is a wash at best as well.
The Last Word
The Rockets’ offense can get by with a similar make-up to last season. The upgrade from Green to Durant is that significant. But if the team is forced to play without VanVleet for a large chunk of time, they are going to face serious difficulties. That’s where some backcourt depth would have certainly come in handy. Of course, if the Rockets did make a play for retiring “Point God” Chris Paul, then they were shown up by the 2021 All-Star after-party Los Angeles Clippers. With Okogie, the Rockets certainly stay true to their identity. The 2025-26 Houston Rockets are gearing up to lock down the league.
© Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
The post Rockets’ Final Roster Spot Doubles Down on Lockdown Defense appeared first on Last Word On Basketball.