The Houston Rockets have one of the best offenses in the NBA, in large part because of their elite offensive rebounding. Houston averages 16.6 offensive rebounds per game, which is the highest in the league. However, the reality is that those rebounding numbers are unsustainable, and there is a glaring issue that has not been addressed yet: three-point shooting.
Finney-Smith’s injury is becoming more prevalent with each passing game
The Rockets lost their last matchup against the Utah Jazz by a final score of 133-125, and a big reason why was their shooting percentage from deep. Houston only hit 10 out of 34 attempts from the three-point area. The Jazz, on the contrary, had a three-point percentage of 40%.
The Rockets had planned to have Fred VanVleet, Reed Sheppard, Kevin Durant, and newcomer Dorian Finney-Smith as the team’s main producers from long range, with Tari Eason and Jabari Smith Jr. As contributors.
VanVleet is guaranteed to miss at least a majority of the season, and Reed Sheppard is still young and lacking experience. Dorian Finney-Smith was meant to be the Dillon Brooks replacement after the blockbuster Durant trade. Finney-Smith had a three-point shooting percentage of 41.1% last season, and his signing instantly addressed a need for Houston. However, fans and the team alike have yet to see him in action as he’s recovering from an off-season ankle injury. It’s unclear when Finney-Smith will come back as the Rockets have been keeping the subject under wraps.
Rockets coach Ime Udoka on next steps for Dorian Finney-Smith: “Just continue to ramp it up. He's getting non-contact work in, and got to see how the ankle responds to an increase in the load there. And so don't really have a timeline.”
— Danielle Lerner (@danielle_lerner) November 7, 2025
The Rockets could have really used Finney-Smith against the Jazz, and his absence is noticeable.
His situation, combined with Tari Eason missing extended time, Jabari’s role not delivering as many three-point opportunities as expected, and Steven Adams unable to play back-to-back games, has also led to some peculiar depth issues.
It must be stated that the Rockets have only played back-to-back games once this season so far. As the season begins to truly roll on, Houston’s schedule will become congested; getting Finney-Smith available by that time would help lighten the load on the starters while also adding another shooter to the rotation.
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