Brutale injury by Fred Vanvleet a blow to the possibilities of the Rockets title. Can they find help for the points guard?

The guard of the starting point of Houston Rockets Fred Vanvleet suffered a right -handed ACL lacerated last week during a team minicamp scrimmage at the Bahamas, they told Yahoo Sports multiple sources. Vanvleet, 31 years old, should undergo surgery at the end of this week.

The news arrives in a brutal moment for the organization, with a training field for a week and the franchise was rotated for a chase of the title following the arrival of offseason by 14 times the attacker all-star Kevin Durant. In the last two seasons, Vanvleet had established himself as an extension of the coach head IME Udoka inside and off the pitch, providing the young people of Houston with a structure, spacing of the floor so necessary and safety of the balls. The Rockets rewarded him with a two -year extension and $ 50 million in this low season.

Announcement

The team options at this moment, as regards the external help, are limited. Houston is currently concise in the first apron, projected to $ 195.9 million, which prevents them from looking for veterans still on the market, including Seth Curry, Malik Beasley and Russell Westbrook. The organization also signed a series of his players in this offseason in Jabari Smith Jr., Steven Adams, Jae’s’s Tate and Aaron Holiday-E are not eligible for trade until mid-December, not to mention the fact that the rockets do not want to lose additional players.

Despite the shooting of Vanvleet in the last two seasons, its ability to stabilize the team in the middle of the field (94th percentile in the percentage of turnover last season, to clean the glass) we will be seriously missing – in addition to its constant effort on the other side as a defensive director. Houston must now move most of Vanvleet’s workload to Amen Thompson and Reed Sheppard guards.

For Thompson, who has enjoyed a Breakout season by gaining completely defensive honors and has an average of a shadow under four assists per game in 69 departures, assuming that the more gaming tasks will increase only its rapid development. Jalen Green’s departure opened the doors for further opportunities for Thompson, and Vanvleet’s unfortunate injury strengthens him.

Announcement

For Sheppard, the second year guard who will come out of a season of rookie up and down and inconsistent summer championship, other questions will arise about his ability to manage a wider workload quickly. Houston’s brass, however, remains high in Sheppard’s skills, a belief that was also echoed inside the roster.

“The more our young people can intensify, be ready to go jumping, it will give the older boys more pillow,” said Vanvleet before this offseason. “The best rod [Sheppard] Play, less I need to be out there. This is only General Basketball 101. “

There is hope from the Vanvleet camp, as they are looking for multiple opinions on potential recovery times, the 31-year-old guard will return from the post-installation. It is not common, but there are a handful of historical cases to rely on: Klay Thompson, who returned to action six months after a tear ACL in 2020 and Derrick Rose, who took eight months.

Announcement

In the meantime, the training field will become an even greater opportunity for the rockets to experiment. Udoka will have to determine what his new starting formation will be without Vanvleet at his disposal. The rockets still boast one of the deepest rosters of the NBA that head towards the season, with an abundance of length and defensive versatility in which Udoka can lean. For example, Houston could start Thompson a Point Guard and flank him with Dorian Finney-Smith, Durant, Smith and the Alperenic şengün starting center. Şengün, which is coming out of an all-star season and a strong summer performance in Eurobasket, has all the characteristics of a superstar and is already a capable passage. Durant is also an efficient ball manager and can manage guard homework in points.

Vanvleet’s injury certainly affects an embodity in the possibilities of the title of Houston, but the rockets still have a more than enough talent to be a force in the western conference.