The Houston Rockets' season changed the moment Fred VanVleet was hurt this preseason.
Now, point guard is a big question mark for the Rockets, at least on paper.
The second-year guard Reed Sheppard will be pushed into a much larger usage rate, and there's risk involved in that.
But there's good news for the Rockets, too: Their best "point guards," or in this case offensive initiators, just happen to be a center and a forward.
Alperen Sengun and Amen Thompson will do much of the creation, even though they are far from traditional point guards.
"Early returns in the preseason have been promising with the Rockets utilizing multiple players -- mainly center Alperen Sengun and forward Amen Thompson -- to initiate offense," writes ESPN's Michael C. Wright. "Expect Houston to also lean on Durant to facilitate the offense along with second-year guard Reed Sheppard, who appears to be growing more confident in his role."
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The addition of Kevin Durant is a huge one, not just for scoring reasons.
There was a cool moment in the Rockets' most recent preseason game that showed how KD and Sengun can work hand in hand.
Jabari Smith Jr. had the ball and was looking to create a shot, but Durant pointed from off the ball, directing Smith to toss the ball to Sengun at the elbow.
Smith listened, and when Sengun caught and started to attack, the defense's attention shifted to him. That freed Smith back up for an easier shot, and he knocked it down when Sengun got the ball back to him.
Durant never touched the basketball, yet he positively influenced the play.
That didn't even include the freakishly athletic Thompson, who is a great distributor in his own way, too.
The Rockets may be just fine, even if their offense runs in unconventional ways.
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