Rockets’ fatal flaw is painfully obvious to anyone looking

As the Houston Rockets enter the season, what perhaps represents their greatest strength, their size and athleticism across their rotation, could also create a serious problem.

According to NBA Analyst John Hollinger, on the recent episode of The Zach Lowe Show, his biggest concern about the Rockets still lies in their ability to create spacing on the floor, and, with Fred VanVleet now likely out for the season, this problem will only continue to get worse.

Although offseason acquisition Kevin Durant can still perform at a superstar level, Houston will need to surround him with viable offensive pieces in order to maximize his potential and allow him to get to his spots on the floor, and, despite all the changes the Rockets have made to their rotation, it still remains to be seen if they will be able to accomplish that goal.

John Hollinger says that the Rockets' biggest issue still remains their spacing even after the Durant trade

While Houston surged to the second seed in the Western Conference last season on the shoulders of one of the best defensive fronts in basketball, where they struggled consistently throughout the season was in their half-court offense.

In the first round of the playoffs against the Golden State Warriors, the team failed to crack the 100-point threshold in three out of the seven games, often relying heavily on Alperen Sengun to exploit the mismatch he had against Draymond Green in order to conduct any offense whatsoever.

Therefore, even as the Rockets enter a new campaign with an entirely new look on offense, Hollinger maintains the same concerns he had last season: "Even with Kevin Durant, I'm really worried about the spacing. They didn't have much last year, and that was with VanVleet bombing away. Their three most prolific 3-point shooters... they don't have any of them this year."

While Houston added Durant, who shot 43% from 3-point range last season, they also subtracted Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks in that trade, who were, although inconsistent, among the only perimeter shooters on the team.

Now, with VanVleet out, it is likely that the Rockets will run a line-up featuring Amen Thompson, Durant, and three massive players in order to maximize their size on the court at any given time. While this could be any combination of Jabari Smith Jr., Steven Adams, Dorian Finney-Smith or even Tari Eason, none of these players are necessarily reliable or viable shooters from beyond the arc.

Unfortunately, therefore, Hollinger's concern has serious validity. Can Houston somehow rely on Durant to keep the defense on their toes just enough? Or will this team, without VanVleet, encounter many of the same issues it ran into last season?