The Houston Rockets have nothing to worry about Amen Thompson after he suffered an injury in Tuesday’s season opener against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Coach Ime Udoka provided a positive update on Thompson’s condition following their 125-124 double-overtime loss.
In an appearance on “The Matt Thomas Show with Ross” via SportsTalk 790, Udoka revealed that Thompson suffered from cramps. The third-year player is alright, and the Rockets fanbase can breathe a sigh of relief.
“He’s fine. It was just cramping in the calf (that) came on late in the fourth quarter. He tried to play through it a little bit… until it really caught up to him, and (we) had to hold him out. Obviously, we would love to have had him in the later stages of the game, but just cramping. I think (it being) the first game, obviously, and then the two overtimes… extra minutes for him caught up,” Udoka said, via Rockets Wire.
Thompson started at point guard and finished with 18 points, four rebounds and five assists. He struggled with his shot from beyond the arc, missing all of his seven attempts. He also had four turnovers, which is part of the Rockets’ growing pains following Fred VanVleet‘s season-ending injury before training camp.
Rockets Have an Amen Thompson Problem
According to Bleacher Report’s Dan Favale, the Houston Rockets are going to have problems with Amen Thompson at point guard. Thompson has the potential to be good at the position, but he’ll have problems early in the campaign, like what happened against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
“He’s not suited to deal with full-court presses right now. He has the speed to beat them, but not necessarily the handle. His body contorts more East-West than his feet. That’s a problem for both him and the Rockets, because they don’t have anyone else to take on this role in higher volumes. We saw as much on Tuesday night. Too often Thompson was left out to dry, because no one on the team is familiar enough with bringing the ball up,” Favale wrote.
The Rockets don’t have any choices, especially with Reed Sheppard not being ready with the full responsibility at point guard. They might have to wait until some of their players become eligible for trade before looking for a solution before the February deadline.
Kevin Durant’s Impact on Amen Thompson
After failing to get out of the first round of the playoffs, the Houston Rockets acquired Kevin Durant in the offseason. The Rockets have gone all in so that they could win their first NBA championship since 1995.
Durant’s arrival has already been impactful to Houston’s young players, such as Amen Thompson. The 22-year-old star told ESPN’s Michael C. Wright how KD has impacted him before the start of training camp.
“The best thing I’ve learned from KD is just his work ethic. Sometimes, I would think I’m going hard. Then, you watch KD. He’s damn near 40 and he’s going harder. He’s going super hard,” Thompson said.
Thompson will have more time to learn from Durant, who signed a two-year, $90 million extension, as reported by Shams Charania of ESPN. He has all the potential to be great, though he still needs to polish his shooting and playmaking first.
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