Dorian Finney-Smith devastating injury update will surprise Rockets fans

As the Houston Rockets prepared to enter training camp just two weeks ago, a serious strength of the way they had constructed their roster was the depth they had built out at virtually every position.

Yet, the devastating news of Fred VanVleet's ACL injury has thrown a major wrench in their backcourt depth, and, with the revelation that offseason acquisition Dorian Finney-Smith will need to miss time to start the season following an offseason ankle surgery, the team's depth has gotten even more thin for now.

While it is not a surprise to the organization, this news comes as a surprise to Rockets fans everywhere: one that has serious implications for the early-season success of the team.

Dorian Finney-Smith will miss time to start the season, putting Rockets' depth in jeopardy

Beyond their blockbuster trade for Kevin Durant, Finney-Smith was perhaps Houston's most impactful acquisition this offseason. Last season, through 63 games between the Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Lakers, he averaged 8.7 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.4 assists while shooting 41.1% from beyond the arc.

Houston, more than anything, needs perimeter shooting as they attempt to revamp their offense, but Tim McMahon's comments on today's episode of The Hoop Collective indicate that they will need to wait a bit to reach their full form in this regard: "I don't want to put an exact timetable on it... but there's certainly an anticipation that he will miss some games to start the regular season."

Last season, the Rockets lack of viable outside shooters (outside of, ironically, Dillon Brooks) is part of what sunk their offense to average levels for much of the campaign. The team as a whole shot just 35.3% from 3-point range on the season, putting them at 21st in that category across the entire league.

While VanVleet's production took a dip as well last season from 3-point range, the mere threat of his experienced shotmaking was often enough to help space the floor. In his absence, the team will need to lean even more on their perimeter threats in order to help the offense flow.

With the addition of players like Durant (who shot 43% from 3-point range last season) and Finney-Smith, the team should hopefully be poised to see marked improvement in that area once Finney-Smith recovers. Moreover, the potential of a second-year breakout from young guard Reed Sheppard is tantalizing, and, if he can crawl closer to 38 or 39% from beyond the arc, his minutes could become exponentially more viable.

Nevertheless, while the exact length of Finney-Smith's absence to start the season is still unclear, it is certain that the team will gladly welcome his return whenever the time is right.