Amen Thompson is quickly becoming the Rockets' secret ingredient

The Houston Rockets, without their star scorer in Kevin Durant, pulled off a massive win over the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night, scrapping their way through a physical battle en route to a 114-92 victory.

Now sitting at an 11-4 record, Houston continues to be one of the hottest teams in the league, and the recent performance of third-year guard Amen Thompson has been one of the highlights of their early-season success.

Against the Suns, Thompson posted 28 points, seven rebounds and eight assists while shooting 10-of-16 from the floor, and, although he did not attract the defensive attention that Alperen Sengun did, he was easily the team's most impactful player on the night. If he can continue to hit his shots, and build his confidence in his offensive game, we could be seeing Thompson make a superstar leap right in front of our eyes.

Amen Thompson could become the peripheral threat that this team needs

So far this season, Houston's half-court offense has operated almost entirely through Sengun and Durant, depending on the pair to earn isolation possessions and capitalize upon them.

Yet, if the Rockets are going to be genuine championship contenders this season, they will need players who are able to act off of the gravity of their two stars, especially when opposing defenses are able to swarm Sengun and Durant and mitigate their offensive potency.

Thompson, as an excellent cutter and finisher at the rim, is in prime position to take on this role.

Yet, there is another layer to his game that has yet to be unlocked that could make him the ultimate threat in this context: his jumper from outside of the paint. While he is shooting just 47.5% from the field this season, he is doing so on significantly higher volume than he has in the past.

Performances like the one he put up against Phoenix provide hope for his ability to, at some point this season, put it all together, rendering him not only more lethal as a pull-up shooter but also as a downhill driver as a result of his ability to change speeds and contort his body to the demands of the play.

Therefore, while the Rockets' victory over the Suns serves as a positive sign for their ability to remain offensively viable in Durant's absence, it also bore considerable fruit to consider in the context of a Durant and Sengun-centric offense. If Thompson can be trusted to take on this sort of volume on a near-nightly basis, could he be Houston's secret ingredient for success?