Rockets Rumors

Rockets Notes: Offseason, Durant, VanVleet, Whitmore, Sheppard

May 6th, 2025 at 3:07pm CST by Luke Adams

Even after winning 52 games and claiming the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference, the Rockets didn’t see themselves as a legitimate championship contender this spring, says Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link).

The Rockets, making their first playoff appearance since 2020, knew the top-seeded Thunder were much further along in their title chase, according to Fischer, who writes that Houston’s goal this season was similar to Oklahoma City’s in the last year or two — evaluating a roster heavy on recent lottery picks to collect data and get a better sense of which players are long-term keepers and which ones might not be.

With their postseason run over, the Rockets will now have to weigh whether or not to pursue a major move on the trade market this summer, Fischer writes, noting that the team is expected to bring back most of its core and “proceed judiciously” going forward. General manager Rafael Stone didn’t contradict Fischer’s reporting when he spoke to the media on Tuesday.

“The business we’re in, nobody’s untouchable,” Stone said (Twitter link via Kelly Iko of The Athletic). “But we deeply value everyone on our roster. We have those (extra draft) picks, we accumulated them so we could draft guys or upgrade our current roster. We’ll see what makes the most sense.”

As Fischer details, pundits figure to repeatedly link Suns forward Kevin Durant to Houston this summer for a number of reasons — the Rockets control several Phoenix draft assets; Durant played college ball at Texas and played in Oklahoma City alongside close friend and Rockets assistant Royal Ivey; and Rockets head coach Ime Udoka was an assistant during KD’s time in Brooklyn. However, Fischer insists that “more indications than not” suggests Houston’s interest in Durant has been overstated.

Here’s more on the Rockets:

After Fred VanVleet and Udoka expressed a desire to keep the point guard in Houston going forward, Stone declined to comment on any contract specifics on Tuesday, but confirmed that the Rockets want to retain VanVleet. “He’s been the person and player that we hoped we were getting and we’re very optimistic he’ll be with us for the foreseeable future,” Stone said, per Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).
In a story for The Houston Chronicle (subscription required), Lerner poses five burning questions facing the Rockets this offseason, starting with whether or not they keep VanVleet and whether they’ll pursue a star. Lerner also considers whether Houston will extend Tari Eason and Jabari Smith, which of their own free agents they’ll try to re-sign, and how much this year’s draft matters to the team.
The Magic and Rockets share many of the same strengths and weaknesses, according to John Hollinger of The Athletic, who suggests that both teams will be in the market for offensive upgrades this offseason. However, there appears to be one key difference between the two clubs, as Hollinger observes — Orlando needs to strengthen its supporting cast around star forwards Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, while Houston still needs to find an alpha dog, either inside or outside of the organization.
Within his analysis of the Rockets’ future, Hollinger points out that the team may soon need to make decisions on whether a pair of little-used rotation players are keepers. Former first-round pick Cam Whitmore has shown flashes of real promise, but hasn’t played consistently, while last year’s No. 3 overall pick Reed Sheppard spent most of his rookie season on the bench even though the organization reportedly thinks very highly of him. “We have had in-depth conversations with Cam probably more than anybody,” Udoka said on Tuesday (Twitter link via Lerner). “… Ton of potential there, but consistency is the main thing and he knows that.”

Thunder’s Sam Presti Named Executive Of The Year

May 6th, 2025 at 11:43am CST by Luke Adams

Sam Presti, the Thunder‘s executive vice president of basketball operations and general manager, has been named the NBA’s Executive of the Year for 2024/25, the league announced today (via Twitter). It’s the first time that Presti, who has run the Thunder’s front office since 2007, has earned the honor.

Presti, who built the Thunder around a young core led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, and Jalen Williams, made two notable moves last offseason to fortify the roster. He traded Josh Giddey to the Bulls in exchange for defensive standout Alex Caruso and signed big man Isaiah Hartenstein away from the Knicks in free agency.

Despite some injury woes that prevented Hartenstein and Holmgren from suiting up together until after the trade deadline, the Thunder dominated the NBA’s regular season in 2024/25, racking up a league-high 68 wins and recording a net rating of +12.7, one of the best marks in league history.

Oklahoma City ranked third in the NBA in offensive rating (119.2) and led the league in defensive rating (106.6) by a comfortable margin.

The Thunder, viewed as the heavy favorites to come out of the West this spring, remain well positioned to contend for years to come due not only to the talent already under contract but to their collection of future draft picks.

The Executive of the Year award is voted on by fellow team executives rather than by media members.

According to the NBA, Presti received 10 of 30 possible first-place votes and showed up on 22 ballots overall, earning 74 total points. He narrowly beat out Koby Altman of the Cavaliers (six first-place votes; 58 points) and Trajan Langdon of the Pistons (six first-place votes; 52 points), with Rafael Stone of the Rockets (four first-place votes; 38 points) coming in fourth.

A total of 13 executives showed up on at least one ballot, with Lawrence Frank (Clippers), Rob Pelinka (Lakers), Sean Marks (Nets), and Brad Stevens (Celtics) earning the remaining first-place votes. The full results can be viewed here (Twitter link).

Cavaliers’ Kenny Atkinson Named Coach Of Year

May 5th, 2025 at 5:36pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Kenny Atkinson has been named the NBA’s Coach of the Year, the league announced on Monday (Twitter link).

In his first year with the Cavaliers, Atkinson led the franchise to a 64-18 record and the top seed in the Eastern Conference. Atkinson was hired by Cleveland after a three-year stint as one of Steve Kerr‘s top assistants with Golden State. Atkinson, who was also an assistant with three other NBA franchises, was Brooklyn’s head coach from 2016-20.

The Pistons‘ J.B. Bickerstaff and the Rockets’ Ime Udoka were the other finalists. Atkinson received 59 of the 100 first-place votes from the global media panel and accumulated 401 points in the voting. Bickerstaff earned 31 first-place votes and 305 points to finish second, while Udoka had seven first-place votes and 113 points.

After getting fired by the Cavs at the end of last season, Bickerstaff resurfaced in Detroit, where he led the Pistons to a stunning turnaround. Under Bickerstaff’s guidance, the Pistons improved from a franchise-worst 14 victories to 44 victories and a berth in the playoffs.

The Rockets finished second in the Western Conference with a 52-30 record, an 11-game improvement over their 2023/24 campaign.

Atkinson is the first Cavaliers coach to win the award since Mike Brown earned that distinction in 2009.

Outside of the finalists, only three other head coaches – Mark Daigneault (Thunder), Tyronn Lue (Clippers), and JJ Redick (Lakers) – showed up on Coach of the Year ballots, with Daigneault and Lue earning the remaining first-place votes. The full results can be found here.

Rockets Notes: Green, Thompson, Eason, Smith, Offseason

May 5th, 2025 at 1:36pm CST by Rory Maher

The Rockets‘ season ended on Sunday night when they lost a deciding Game 7 at home against the battle-tested Warriors. As Jonathan M. Alexander of The Houston Chronicle writes, aside from a 38-point outburst in Game 2, shooting guard Jalen Green struggled mightily in his first playoff series, scoring between seven and 12 points in the other six games and shooting 37.5% or below in each of those contests.

Green, who led Houston in scoring (21.0 points per game on .423/.354/.813 shooting) during the regular season, averaged just 13.3 PPG during the postseason, with shooting splits (.372/.295/.667) well below his season-long rates. The 23-year-old finished with eight points on 3-of-8 shooting in Game 7.

“Besides the (second) home game, s–t,” Green said when asked to assess his performance in the series. “Straight s–t. I got to be better. First playoffs is no excuse. Yeah, I’ve got to be better.”

According to Alexander, Warriors defensive stalwart Draymond Green said slowing down Jalen Green was a primary focus for Golden State.

“We did a good job on him to start the series and I think that rattled his confidence a little bit,” said Draymond Green. “This isn’t something he’s been apart of before. He’s good young player. He’ll learn from his mistakes, but you’ve got to give the guys credit who were guarding him. … Anybody who was on him, he was a focal point. We know what they are capable of when he’s scoring and so we really wanted to take him out of this series.”

Houston signed Jalen Green to a three-year, $105MM rookie scale extension last fall. That deal, which also includes a 10% trade kicker, will begin in 2025/26. Given the way the offense — and Green — struggled, Alexander anticipates “non-stop” questions this offseason about how Houston can improve on that end of the court, as well as Green’s future with the team.

Here’s more on the Rockets:

While the end result certainly wasn’t what he wanted, second-year swingman Amen Thompson continued his strong play to conclude the series after struggling in the first few games, per Greg Rajan of The Houston Chronicle. Thompson, who chipped in nine rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block, led the team in scoring (24 points) and was the only Rocket to shoot over 50% from the field (9-of-16) in Game 7.
As Rajan writes, Thompson attended Stephen Curry‘s basketball camp growing up in California, and the four-time champion was effusive in his praise of the 22-year-old. “I talked to him right after the game,” Curry said. “I kind of saw him develop in front of everyone’s eyes. I know people (who) watched the Rockets play night in and night out over the last year have seen the potential and raw athleticism, the hunger and he’s a dawg. He showed all seven games and he’s going to be a problem, for sure. He’s going to try to develop his game, especially offensively, but defensively, he’s a freak athlete and I think he loves the challenge and loves to be in the fight. He was tough all series and kind of crazy that the old man got it done.”
Adding shooting should be a top priority for the Rockets this summer, according to Kelly Iko of The Athletic. With several promising young players and a surplus of draft assets, the Rockets will be one of the main teams to follow on the trade market, and they will be “closely” evaluating all their options on that front, Iko reports. Citing team sources, Iko also says Houston is “hopeful” about its chances of having long-term relationships with Tari Eason and Jabari Smith, who are both eligible for rookie scale extensions this summer.
Greg Rajan and Matt Young of The Houston Chronicle pass along what the Rockets had to say after their season ended, while Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle focuses on what the team learned during the ’24/25 campaign.
Bobby Marks of ESPN and Mark Deeks of HoopsHype recently previewed Houston’s offseason. Determining what to do with Fred VanVleet‘s team option, possible extensions for Eason and Smith, and re-signing backup center Steven Adams are among the decisions the front office will face this summer.
In case you missed it, VanVleet and the Rockets have mutual interest in continuing their relationship, though what his contract will look like remains a question mark.

VanVleet, Rockets Have Mutual Interest In Continuing Relationship

May 5th, 2025 at 8:26am CST by Luke Adams

After scoring 26 points in Game 5 and 29 in Game 6 to help the Rockets force a win-or-go-home game in Houston on Sunday, veteran point guard Fred VanVleet couldn’t push his young team over the top in Game 7. He made another trio of three-pointers and had 17 points, but it wasn’t enough for the Rockets, whose season ended with a 103-89 loss to Golden State.

VanVleet, who signed a three-year, maximum-salary contract with Houston during the 2023 offseason, has a team option worth nearly $44.9MM on that deal for 2025/26. While it remains to be seen whether or not the Rockets intend to exercise that option, post-game comments from head coach Ime Udoka and VanVleet on Sunday made it clear that there’s mutual interest in continuing the relationship.

“I think both sides want to be here and want him here,” Udoka said (Twitter video link via Michael Scotto of HoopsHype). “From day one, the importance of him at the point guard position, leading us in a lot of ways and allowing guys to grow at the same time. … He’s a huge part of our growth. Love everything he’s done. Perfect combination of on-ball (and) off-ball for our guards and our young guys to grow. Obviously would love to have him back and I think the feeling’s mutual.”

As Udoka alludes to, the Rockets targeted VanVleet in large part because of his defense, toughness, and championship experience. His offensive numbers since arriving in Houston (15.9 PPG and 6.9 APG on .400/.369/.842 shooting) have been just solid, not spectacular, but he has played a key role in guiding a young team to the next level. The Rockets won no more than 22 games in any of the three years before VanVleet arrived, but have gone 93-71 since signing him.

For his part, VanVleet echoed his head coach’s comments and expressed a desire to remain in Houston in ’25/26 and beyond.

“Obviously, I put my heart and soul into this and this is where I want to be,” VanVleet said (Twitter video link). “It’s definitely a family situation. I’ve got a lot of love for our coaching staff and (general manager) Rafael (Stone) and the Fertitta family and just what we set out to do when I had my free agent meeting two years ago and we’re on that track. It was never a short-term vision — it was a long-term goal. We’re on track, we’re on schedule.

“It’s a tough way to lose and end the season, but my mind’s very far away from contract stuff right now. We’ll get to that when it’s time.”

With lucrative new extensions for Alperen Sengun and Jalen Green taking effect this summer, the Rockets would likely prefer to reduce VanVleet’s cap hit. Picking up his option would bring the team’s guaranteed commitments to $176MM+ for nine players next season. The luxury tax line is projected to be at $187.9MM.

Given that context, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Houston declines VanVleet’s $44.9MM option with an understanding that he’d accept a longer-term deal paying him less money in 2025/26 but increasing his overall guarantee across multiple years. If the Rockets decide they’re comfortable with that $44.9MM cap charge next season, they could also exercise the option and explore a more team-friendly extension that begins in ’26/27.

And-Ones: Award Announcements, Draft Assets, Fournier, NBC Theme Song

May 4th, 2025 at 9:57pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The NBA will announce the Coach of the Year award winner on Monday evening, the league’s PR department tweets.

Kenny Atkinson (Cavaliers), J.B. Bickerstaff (Pistons) and Ime Udoka (Rockets) are the three finalists. Atkinson, who led Cleveland to the best record in the East, is considered a heavy favorite to win the award.

The Executive of the Year award will be announced on Tuesday and the Social Justice Champion will be revealed on Wednesday.

We have more from around the basketball world:

Not surprisingly, the Thunder are ranked No. 1 in the league in terms of draft assets by ESPN’s Bobby Marks and Jeremy Woo. They could potentially have three first-rounders in this year’s draft. They have six extra first-rounders in future years, plus swap rights to three years. They also own 17 future second-rounders. The Nets, Jazz, Rockets and Hornets round out the top five.
Evan Fournier, who is currently looking to win a EuroLeague championship with Olympiacos in Greece, spoke about a handful of topics, including his disappointing experience with the Knicks, in an interview with Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com (subscription required). Fournier played two-and-a-half seasons in New York and finished last season with the Pistons.
“Roundball Rock” is back. NBC will bring back the sports theme song next season when the network begins its 11-year media rights deal to air NBA games. Music composer and radio and TV personality John Tesh wrote “Roundball Rock,” which became popular during NBC’s coverage of the league from 1990-2002, according to Jenna West of The Athletic.

Rockets Notes: VanVleet, Udoka/Popovich, Zone Defense

May 4th, 2025 at 3:10pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Seasoned Rockets guard Fred VanVleet, who has seemingly been getting better in each successive playoff game against Golden State, is confident that his young teammates will be prepared for Game 7, writes Marc J. Spears of Andscape.

VanVleet scored 29 points and handed out eight assists while leading Houston to a 115-107 Game 6 victory to knot the series at 3-3.

“We got so much talent just as long as they don’t get sidetracked,” VanVleet said. “Game 1 it was like, ‘Oh my God.’ And then Game 3 on the road was a little shaky. But other than that, they are so good. Just go out there and play your game. I just try to keep them calm and keep them focused on just playing the game. Don’t get worried about all the other stuff.”

The Rockets fell to a 3-1 hole against the lower-seeded, more experienced Warriors, but their youth, size, and athleticism has helped propel the team to consecutive victories. Now, the action shifts to Houston for a decisive Game 7.

There’s more out of Houston:

Longtime Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich, who retained his president title while stepping down as coach this week, gave his former assistant, Rockets head coach Ime Udoka, some advice that helped him extend the Golden State series, per Sam Amick of The Athletic. Udoka had also played for Popovich on the Spurs, from 2007-09 and then again in 2010-11. While Udoka wasn’t willing to share the details, he said Popovich “gave me some pointers.” Houston is facing off against another Popovich disciple, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, who played for him in San Antonio and was a Team USA assistant during the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
The Rockets’ intimidating zone defense is a big reason why they’ve managed to extend this Warriors series, writes Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle (subscriber link). “It’s a weird zone,” reserve center Steven Adams said. “Yeah, I don’t know. It’s just like a bizarre one, but it works.” Per Lerner, Houston is employing a 2-3 zone attack. Two guards are positioned at the top of the floor, with frontcourt players handling the back line. VanVleet previously discussed the efficacy of the zone approach.
In case you missed it, Hoops Rumors’ Luke Adams recently ran a poll regarding the outcome of Game 7.

Warriors Notes: Butler, Lineup Changes, Looney, Kuminga, Game 7

May 3rd, 2025 at 11:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Warriors missed two chances to close out their first-round series with the Rockets, but they remain confident going into Sunday’s Game 7, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. Golden State was blown out in Game 5 and watched Houston pull away in the fourth quarter of Game 6, but there were no signs of panic in the locker room after Friday’s loss.

“We’re good. We’re smiling,” Jimmy Butler said. “We’re listening to our music, celebrating life. We’re ready to compete. We were ready to compete tonight. Things didn’t go our way. OK, we’re going to be ready to compete on Sunday. We’re going to make the game go our way.”

The Warriors believe their experience in high-stakes games will ultimately decide the series, Youngmisuk adds. Stephen Curry and Draymond Green have a 3-2 record in seventh games during their time together, with the last one coming in 2023 when they won handily at Sacramento. Butler has been in four Game 7s, going 2-2.

Many of the Rockets’ core players are going through their first playoff experience, but Youngmisuk notes that they have some veterans who’ve been in this situation before. Jeff Green, Steven Adams, Fred VanVleet and Aaron Holiday have collectively been in 10 seventh games.

There’s more on the Warriors:

Steve Kerr made two changes to his starting lineup before Game 6 — replacing Moses Moody and Brandin Podziemski with Buddy Hield and Gary Payton II — and he might consider revising it again on Sunday, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Slater explains that Golden State is trying to get Alperen Sengun involved in actions involving Curry, but the zones Houston has been employing are making it easier for Sengun to avoid that matchup. Slater suggests that Kevon Looney could see more time to battle against Adams after playing just two minutes on Friday.
Kerr said putting Jonathan Kuminga back into the rotation is “100 percent on the table” for Game 7 (Twitter video link from Slater). Kuminga has made just two appearances in the series, logging 26 minutes in a Game 2 loss and 17 minutes in a Game 3 win.
Butler dismissed concerns that the veteran Warriors are being worn down by a younger, more athletic opponent, per Ann Killion of The San Francisco Chronicle. “We’ll be all right,” Butler said. “I’m 35, I can’t remember how old Steph is (37), Dray is 35, too. Everybody’s got to travel the same distance. Ain’t like we’re going to go around the world and land in Houston and they got only a five-minute flight to Houston. They’ve got to travel just like we’ve got to travel.”

Poll: Who Will Win Rockets/Warriors Game 7?

May 3rd, 2025 at 3:58pm CST by Luke Adams

Despite going up against a No. 2 seed as a No. 7 team that required a play-in victory to clinch a playoff spot, the Warriors were considered by oddsmakers to be solid favorites in their first-round series against the Rockets.

In a competitive Western Conference, Golden State finished the regular season with only four fewer wins than Houston and was the better team after adding Jimmy Butler at the trade deadline, ranking third in the NBA in wins (23) and net rating (+9.2) between Butler’s debut and the end of the season. The Warriors also had a major edge in experience over the Rockets, whose young core would be playing in its first postseason series.

Through four games, it looked like the oddsmakers were right. The Warriors held a 3-1 series lead and had deployed their defense (ranked No. 1 in the NBA since Butler’s debut) to great effect, holding the Rockets to just 94.7 points per game in Houston’s three losses.

But the Rockets may have figured something out during the last two games, both of which they led from nearly start to finish. As the Warriors struggled to find five-man units they liked, subbing out starting guard Brandin Podziemski in Game 6 for Gary Payton II, Houston has found success with bigger lineups featuring center Steven Adams, who was a +30 in 48 minutes during those two victories.

And while it may not be sustainable, Rockets point guard Fred VanVleet has looked more like Stephen Curry than Curry himself in Games 5 and 6, knocking down 10-of-15 three-pointers (66.7%) and outscoring his Warriors counterpart by a 55-42 margin.

Jalen Green, Houston’s leading scorer during the season, still hasn’t found his groove in the playoffs — outside of his 38-point outburst in Game 2, he has averaged just 9.4 PPG on 30.2% shooting in the other five games. The Warriors also still have the experience advantage, as Curry, Butler, and Draymond Green are no strangers to Game 7 showdowns, whereas Rockets youngsters like Alperen Sengun, Amen Thompson, and Jabari Smith will be experiencing one for the first time.

But the Rockets have the momentum, they have the home-court advantage, and they’ve made Golden State look old and tired over the last couple games, as Marcus Thompson II writes for The Athletic. Curry continues to battle a thumb issue, while Butler is coming off a pelvic contusion. It certainly wouldn’t be a surprise if the veteran Warriors bring their A-games on Sunday, but it’s also unclear how much they have left in the tank.

With all that in mind, it’s perhaps no surprise that oddsmakers are giving a slight edge to Houston — according to BetOnline.ag, the Rockets are 2.5-point favorites.

We want to know what you think. Will the Warriors hold off the young, upstart Rockets, or will Houston complete its comeback from a 3-1 deficit and set up a second-round matchup against Minnesota?

Vote in our poll, then head to the comment section below to make your predictions and share your thoughts!

Who will win Sunday's Game 7?

Houston Rockets 51.94% (509 votes)

Golden State Warriors 48.06% (471 votes)

Total Votes: 980

Rockets Notes: Adams, Zones, VanVleet, More

May 3rd, 2025 at 11:23am CST by Rory Maher

Veteran center Steven Adams missed about half of the 2022/23 season with a knee injury. That same injury kept him on the shelf for the entire ’23/24 campaign. After a 21-month absence, Adams returned to action in late October.

The Rockets brought Adams along slowly to open ’24/25, frequently giving him extra rest days and limiting his playing time. He wound up making 58 regular season appearances and averaging a career-low 13.7 minutes per game.

While his production looked fairly modest on the surface — he averaged 3.9 points and 5.6 rebounds — Adams quietly posted the best offensive rebounding percentage of his career. He was also second in the team in net rating differential, only trailing All-Star center Alperen Sengun.

That trend has carried over to the postseason as well — Adams has been terrific in the Rockets’ first-round series with Golden State. The Rockets are plus-53 in Adams’ 129 playoff minutes and are minus-38 in the 159 minutes he’s been on the bench. The two-big pairing of Adams and Sengun has been particularly effective against the Warriors, Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports notes (via Twitter).

Adams wound up playing a season-high 31 minutes in Friday’s Game 6 victory in San Francisco, recording 17 points, five rebounds, one steal and three blocks. After falling in a 3-1 hole, the Rockets have now evened the series at three games apiece heading into Sunday’s Game 7.

“Adams was fantastic tonight,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said after the game, per Matt Young of The Houston Chronicle. “He’s having a great impact,” added Warriors forward/center Draymond Green.

Adams, 31, is playing on expiring $12.6MM contract and will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.

Here’s more on the Rockets:

Head coach Ime Udoka has befuddled the Warriors by deploying a variety of zone defenses over the past two games, with Adams often used as the anchor, writes Kelly Iko of The Athletic. That was particularly true of yesterday’s fourth quarter, when Golden State only managed one field goal over an eight-minute stretch to open the final period. “Just attention to detail,” Fred VanVleet said. “Trying to find the shooters. We’ve been experimenting with some things in the zone and having the bigs on the back line, and then just morphing and flying around. Half the time, we don’t even know what the hell we’re doing out there. I’m sure it’s hard to game plan against but just flying around, having effort, being physical. We know the guys that we want to limit their touches and shots, make it tough on them.”
Former All-Star guard VanVleet had arguably his best performance of the series in Game 6, scoring an extremely efficient 29 points to go along with eight rebounds and eight assists in 40 minutes. As Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle details, VanVleet had no idea the Rockets would be in this position when he signed with Houston a couple years ago. “You always dream of the moment, the best moment possible, and rising to the occasion and building up a team,” VanVleet said. “But I think first and foremost, it was hard to see that part when I first got there, first practice and first training camp. We just had so much work to do. But it’s just a testament to these young guys and how far they’ve come in such a short amount of time. I can bark all day. Ime can bark all day. It’s not gonna matter if these guys didn’t put the work in, if they weren’t hungry, if they weren’t selfless, they weren’t confident, they weren’t talented. So I mean, they get all the credit in the world. They’re making me look good.“
Assistant coach Will Dunn made it clear that VanVleet has been critical to Houston’s rise over the past two seasons — the coaching staff refers to him as “The General” due to his position and the way in which he motivates himself and teammates, according to Lerner. “He has the best pulse on our team. He knows exactly what our team needs to hear,” Dunn said. “He’s had huge moments and huge series. He’s not scared of the moment. Every single chance when he has a chance to take a big shot, he’s gonna step into it and shoot like he’s gonna make it.”

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