The Houston Rockets have a massive backcourt issue to begin the 2025-26 season.
Amen Thompson is a gifted on-ball defender with a knack for getting downhill and embracing contact around the rim. However, the former lottery pick isn’t a natural point guard, making it difficult for Houston to run smoothly on offense.
So, where is Houston’s starting point guard? Fred Vanvleet, who led the Rockets’ offense last year and was expected to do the same this season, is unavailable to start the year due to injury.
Why Fred VanVleet still isn't playing for the Rockets with updated injury news
On Sep. 22, ESPN’s Shams Charania broke the news that VanVleet suffered a torn ACL that could cause him to miss the entire year.
The Wichita State product did a tremendous job operating as the head of the snake for the Rockets in 2024-25, drilling big-time jumpers in low-shot-clock situations and consistently making the right reads in pick-and-roll situations (Houston reached the postseason as the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference).
It’s reasonable to assume that Rockets fans were excited to see what VanVleet had up his sleeve with Kevin Durant joining the mix. Unfortunately, the 6-foot-1 guard’s untimely setback raised his concerns about his availability.
However, VanVleet isn’t ruling out the possibility of a late-season return.
“No, no timeline,” VanVleet told the Houston Chronicle’s Danielle Lerner on Monday. “Just taking it slow, day-by-day, and it's definitely like a week-by-week, day-by-day thing. We'll see where we're at towards the end of the year.”
“It's been tough to be out. You know how much work I put in into my role and what I mean to this team. The worst part is just not being out there with the guys and not being able to contribute right now.”
It’ll be interesting to see where VanVleet is progression-wise during the second half of the year.
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