Rockets have an Amen Thompson problem that could place a cap on his development

The Houston Rockets, after having dropped a brutal game to the Dallas Mavericks in the absence of both of their primary centers, have no real reason to panic.

Yet, the sub-par performance of Amen Thompson, who was coming off a set of high-scoring games, leaves a point for major concern. Is he capable of creating his own offense, and, if not, where does that place his ceiling as a scorer?

On the night, Thompson posted seven points, six rebounds and six assists, and his six turnovers were among the low-lights of the game for Houston. As good of a cutter and a finisher as Thompson is, therefore, games like this serve as a stark reminder of some of the limitations he has experienced over his first few seasons in the NBA.

Amen Thompson needs to operate within the flow of the offense

By all measures, Thompson is having a career year from an offensive perspective. Through his first 21 games, he's averaging 17.4 points, seven rebounds and 5.1 assists while shooting 47.7% from the field.

Although his 3-point shooting has not taken the leap that some thought it would prior to start of the season (he's shooting just 20.5% from beyond the arc), his jumper has clearly improved, and his ability to capitalize off of the gravity that Kevin Durant and Alperen Sengun possess has been impressive.

Yet, his game is also highly dependent upon the presence of other star scorers, and other capable passers, to create space for him and to feed him the ball in the dunker spot. While he has shown an ability to drive to the rim on his own, this will be capped as long as he is essentially a non-shooter from 3-point range, giving opposing defenders the ability to hedge and limit his downhill momentum.

With the team missing its primary playmaker in Sengun, and Dallas having the ability to load the paint on the defensive end, Thompson was essentially a non-factor for much of the night.

Don't get it wrong, even if Thompson is simply a scorer in a secondary capacity, he is also one of the most dynamic defenders in the league, and he will be a two-way star no matter what as long as he can hold his own on both ends of the floor.

Yet, the next step in his development beyond that is an advancement of his ability to create his own offense, and games like the loss to the Mavericks serve as a glaring reminder that he is not quite there yet.