1 Lineup that proves Amen Thompson will thrive at new position next year

Some Houston Rockets fans are worried about running Amen Thompson at the 2 next season. The lineup data suggests that it's the best decision.

That will surprise some. To be sure, Thompson at the 2 flies in the face of convention. This is the shooting guard position - emphasis on "shooting". That's about the only thing Thompson doesn't do well on an NBA floor.

Last year, that didn't matter.

Rockets performed well with Amen Thompson at the 2

Per CleaningTheGlass, Houston thrived with Thompson at the 2. When he shared the floor with Alperen Sengun, Jabari Smith Jr., Dillon Brooks, and Fred VanVleet, the Rockets were +30.9. They were particularly dominant on defense, allowing 93.8 points per 100 possessions (97th percentile).

Granted, this lineup only played 130 possessions. That's a limited sample size. Still, there are good basketball reasons why this would work.

Simply put, positions are less meaningful in today's NBA. Thompson can guard 2s - that's all that matters. A team needs enough collective shooting on the floor - that was a holistic problem for the Rockets last year - but it doesn't matter where that shooting is coming from. So, why didn't this lineup play more next year?

Well, this is effectively Thompson plugged into Jalen Green's place in the starting lineup. Say what you will about Green, but he was always available for 30 minutes a night. There weren't many opportunities to go with this look in 2024-25. Next year, Rockets fans will see a similar group regularly:

Only, it ought to look better.

Rockets plugging Kevin Durant into a lethal lineup

This will be the starting lineup next year, only with Durant plugged into Brooks' place.

That will significantly enhance the Rockets' attack in an immeasurable way. There's no point in wasting statistical analysis on verifying that Kevin Durant is a better player than Dillon Brooks:

He just is.

Meanwhile, Durant goes a long way towards fixing this lineup's potentially fatal flaw with his injection of shooting. The Rockets are still light in that area, but that was true last year, and they won 52 games.

Lineups featuring Thompson at the 2 were part of that success. There's no reason to think 2025-26 will be any different. With a larger sample size, alongside Kevin Durant, we're going to learn that Thompson can play any position besides (possibly) the 5. In today's positionless NBA, this will work:

Rockets fans have nothing to worry about.