1 Thing each young Rockets player must improve down the stretch

 Amen Thompson: Free Throw Shooting

It feels criminal to point out flaws in Amen Thompson's game. He's been significantly better than advertised.

He looks like he could be a defensive anchor, as he gets stocks left and right. All throughout the game, regardless of the opponent.

And he's a force on the glass. And that doesn't even include his playmaking and court vision. 

One could argue that he's the third-best player on the team, as a rookie.

The obvious weakness is his long-range shooting (16 percent from three), but that was known. And it's a positive that he isn't scared to take those threes.

Sometimes he makes them. You can live with that.

However, he's gotta get better at the charity stripe. Free throws are generally a matter of concentration.

And considering his ability to get downhill and attack, he's going to get his fair share of free throws. He has to shoot better than 63.7 percent at the foul line.

Cam Whitmore: Playmaking

Cam Whitmore was viewed as a developmental prospect for the Rockets. It was assumed that they viewed him as someone worthy of stashing and storing in the G-League as he was very raw.

Not to say that the Rockets didn't have this strategy, however, Whitmore forced their hand into playing him sooner than expected. He was simply too good for the G-League.

He's been well ahead of schedule.

Whitmore's biggest challenge has been his lack of playmaking, as he oftentimes gets tunnel vision and overly focused on scoring and getting buckets. 

The Rockets are more than willing to put up with this, as his scoring off the bench has been a tremendous boost. However, he's made the wrong reads at times and simply not made the necessary pass when others have had better shots than him.

This is something that will likely take care of itself over time (in case Whitmore is reading this), but it would be nice to see signs of this being less of an issue imminently.