National reporter says what Rockets fans already knew about Amen Thompson at point

Houston Rockets fans have been wondering whether Amen Thompson can play point guard for some time. One national reporter cited a stat that suggests he already can.

"The Rockets' Net Rating (was +10.7) when Amen Thompson was playing point guard according to our friends at CleaningTheGlass."

- Dan Devine, Yahoo Sports

Interesting.

Conventional wisdom dictates that Thompson should struggle at the position. It's 2025. How can he play point without a reliable jump shot? Surely, there's some noise in these stats?

There's no shortage of indicators telling us that Thompson should struggle at point. In 2024-25, he scored 0.85 Points Per Possession (PPP) in isolation, which landed him in the 41.3rd percentile. He wasn't much better in the pick-and-roll, where he generated the same 0.85 PPP to land in the 46.3rd percentile.

Yet, there's that +10.7. What gives?

Rockets' Amen Thompson is an interesting player

If you have time (and a subscription), go take a look at CleaningTheGlass. It's difficult to find a Thompson-at-the-1 lineup that didn't work.

There are a handful. The Rockets were -42.6 across 26 possessions when Thompson manned the 1 alongside Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, Cam Whitmore, and Alperen Sengun. That makes intuitive sense: That lineup is too small.

That brings us to the broader point. Lineups featuring Thompson at the 1 aren't necessarily working because Thompson is a high-functioning point guard. They're partly working because he is a huge point guard, which allows the Rockets to run lineups where they overwhelm opponents with size.

Will that be a sustainable strategy in 2025-26?

Rockets' Amen Thompson must improve guard skills

Well, we're going to find out.

Fred VanVleet is injured. He's highly unlikely to return next season. It's going to be incumbent on Thompson and Reed Sheppard to make up for his absence.

When Thompson has run point in the past, it's been a curveball for opponents. In 2025-26 (if you'll forgive the rudimentary baseball analogy from a hoops-only head), it'll have to be a fastball. Thompson will be running point out of necessity.

That doesn't mean he has to be Kyrie Irving. Thompson can get the ball up the floor and make an entry pass to Alperen Sengun to open up the offense. Those could be actions that the Rockets lean heavily into in 2025-26.

Still, Thompson will need to be able to penetrate with some reliability. The PPP stats on either isolation or pick-and-roll have to come up. If that can happen, that 10.7 number could start to feel less like noise and more like a trend.

Perhaps Thompson has been a point guard all along.