BOSTON — To Amen Thompson’s surprise, with five seconds left in a tied midseason game against the defending NBA champions, Houston Rockets coach Ime Udoka called a play for the second-year forward.
“I liked the matchup,” said Udoka, who coached the Boston Celtics to the Finals in 2022.
Thompson, who cracked the starting lineup earlier this month for the second-place team in the Western Conference, was being defended by 2024 Finals MVP Jaylen Brown. Thompson calmly corralled the inbounds pass, drove his Celtics counterpart to the right block, stopped on a dime, took one step to his left and drained the first game-winner of his NBA career. It was everything that made Thompson the fourth overall pick in the 2023 draft — the athleticism, the strength, the skill and, now, the confidence.
Asked if his 33 points, nine rebounds and four assists marked the best performance of his career, Thompson said, “Second best.” And what was the best? “Game 2 of the Overtime Elite finals.” To which teammate Dillon Brooks, who had his own career night, yelled across the locker room, “OTE don’t count.”
The floater announced both Thompson’s arrival as a future superstar and Houston’s entrance into this year’s title conversation. Since being reinserted into the starting lineup on Jan. 5, Thompson is averaging 19.2 points (on 57.4% shooting from the field), 11.5 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 2.2 steals and 1.2 blocks a game. The Rockets are 9-2 against a brutal schedule in that span, and over the past week, in addition to their win over the defending champs on Monday, they have twice beaten the East-leading Cleveland Cavaliers.
“Our record is what it is, and it’s not just a fluke,” said Udoka, whose team improved to 31-14 and eclipsed Boston for the league’s third-best record, trailing the Cavs and Oklahoma City Thunder. “People watch film, they see the physicality and the way we play. It’s a little different from the rest of the league, and maybe that takes people off guard initially, but I wouldn’t say we’re sneaking up on anybody anymore.”
They may not be scaring anyone, either, at least in the playoffs. Starting point guard Fred VanVleet and veteran reserve Jeff Green won championships with the Toronto Raptors and Denver Nuggets over the previous five seasons, respectively, but the core of these Rockets — Thompson, Alperen Şengün, Jalen Green, Tari Eason and the injured Jabari Smith Jr. — have never played a single postseason game.
In a league that requires playoff scars to survive the championship gauntlet of four playoff rounds, the Rockets have none, and any team that has been there before will reveal theirs in a seven-game series.
Houston, more than any other team, is one piece away from serious title contention.
Who that player is remains a question, but the Rockets — armed with a string of recent lottery picks — are uniquely positioned to make a move. In Jalen Green they have a cornerstone of a blockbuster trade. The 22-year-old former No. 2 overall pick has averaged 20 points in four seasons. He is also the sort of inefficient high-volume shooter and low-volume connector that can lower a team’s ceiling in the playoffs.
It is an interesting position to be in for a young team. Trade Green or Reed Sheppard too soon, and they may become stars. Trade them too late, and their value may not be the same. Do not trade them at all, and contracts become cumbersome. Green and Şengün received hefty extensions in October. Smith and Eason are eligible for extensions in the summer. Thompson comes due the following season, and Reed Sheppard the next. The price tags will strip them of the depth that has made them so special this season.
Championship windows are narrow in the NBA. Injuries happen. Chemistry frays. Development stagnates. Maybe Thompson becomes the sort of superstar who can anchor a contender for a decade; maybe the absence of a jumper limits that potential, and years from now Houston is left to wonder, Why didn’t we swing for the fences when we had the chance? There are equal parts risk in making a trade or not.
Take Jimmy Butler, the league’s most available star, for example. The Phoenix Suns are reportedly offering Bradley Beal and limited draft capital for Butler. Other suitors are making similarly underwhelming offers, and the Rockets could easily trump them all. Butler is the sort of battle-tested star who could amplify Houston’s playoff fortune. He has led lesser Miami Heat teams to the Finals twice in the past five years.
Butler is also 35 years old. He makes $48.8 million this season and wants a longterm extension. He has not played more than 65 games in a season since he was on the Chicago Bulls in 2016-17, and at every stop along the way he has eventually torn his team’s chemistry asunder. The risk is all too inherent.
But to be in the position to take that risk is all you can ask for. The Rockets are here.
