Selective shooting and spacing issues plagued the Rockets' offense this season. Rafael Stone must prioritize versatile perimeter threats to unlock the paint and modernize Houston's stagnant scoring attack.
Throughout the 2025-2026 season, the Houston Rockets’ problems on and off the court have been well documented. Thankfully the only issues beyond basketball were from another KD burner incident, so that means we can mainly focus on hoops.
On the court, the lack of a primary ball-handler was going to be a concern before the season even started. The front office decided to ride with the young guys, putting the ball in Amen Thompson and Reed Sheppard’s hands when it wasn’t going through the stars. A decision that worked well enough, but was still puzzling when they stayed stagnant at the deadline, per Roundtable.
Based on that debacle, I wouldn’t be surprised if point guard and center play isn’t much of a priority for Rafael Stone this offseason. FVV and Steven Adams will be coming back to hopefully fill those holes, so there’s no need to go out and get more depth for those positions.
I don’t entirely agree with that, but it seems more likely they’ll try to fix a problem that didn’t actually look like a problem on paper. Houston was the 10th best shooting team in the league based on their 36.4-percent this season, per NBA Team Stats.
You really had to watch the games to see how much of an issue their shooting actually was at times. They had an impressive percentage by being extremely selective in their attempts, allowing defenses to clog the lane and keeping Houston off the glass.
It’s an easy weakness to exploit in today’s league, and they didn’t have the offensive versatility to overcome their lack of shooting. A simple fix to open up the court for everyone, and exactly why it should be a main priority for Rafael Stone in the 2026 NBA Draft.