As the Houston Rockets prepare to enter the 2025-26 NBA season, their sights are almost certainly set on somehow mounting a run at a championship even without starting point guard Fred VanVleet.
Yet, despite their blockbuster offseason acquisition of Kevin Durant, The Ringer's Bill Simmons has serious doubts about the team's viability as it stands, and, according to his recent comments on his podcast, he is concerned about the team's ability to beat the Western Conference's best teams in the playoffs without having a bona-fide ball handler.
Although Houston is still poised to be highly competitive this season, the injury to VanVleet could be devastating to their offensive ceiling, and Simmons's comments hit on the anxieties that should be in the forefront of Rockets' fans minds entering the season.