As the Houston Rockets attempt to navigate what their line-up will ultimately look like with the absence of Fred VanVleet this season, it appears increasingly likely that young guard Amen Thompson will take over starting point guard duties barring a surprise emergence of second-year player Reed Sheppard.
Yet, according to Sam Vecenie on the latest episode of the Game Theory Podcast, this enhanced offensive workload could cause Thompson's defensive game to take a temporary step backwards, ultimately leaving the team's entire defensive front in serious question compared to last season's dominance.
While Thompson has proven to be a capable ball-handler, it remains to be seen whether or he not he can handle the facilitation of the entire offense, and, if this proves to be a struggle, it will be difficult for him to keep up his prowess at the point of attack this season.