The Rockets must keep their 'Terror Twins' together

The Houston Rockets are still searching for an identity. That said, something is beginning to crystallize.

Alperen Sengun has returned to form. He likely began the year dealing with some nagging ailments. Sengun has even improved on the defensive end of the floor. His Defensive Box Plus/Minus of 2.3 would be a career-best.

Look at that. It's beautiful. Those stats put Sengun at the middle of the pack in terms of primary rim protectors. With everything that he provides on offense, the Rockets will happily take that.

Still, Sengun remains an imperfect defender. Luckily, the Rockets have the help defenders to cover any remaining deficiencies.

Against the Wizards on Monday, they put their talents on full display.

Rockets wings shine in dominant win

To be clear, we're referring to Tari Eason and Amen Thompson.

Do you like stocks? Of course you like stocks. Not cryptocurrency, but combined steals and blocks. Against the Wizards, Eason and Thompson combined for an outrageous 13 stocks.

Eason contributed 3 steals and 2 blocks. Thompson chipped in 4 of each. That's practically unheard-of defensive production.

Eason and Thompson make for something of a "fire and ice" duo. Eason is relentless and aggressive. He's unafraid to make a mistake when gambling for a steal. Eason pursues the ball at any cost, and more often than not, he comes away with it.

Thompson is more calculated. He knows that he's the most athletic player on the floor, and he leverages his athleticism. Somehow, he's seldom out of position.

Together, they make life impossible for opposing offenses. It's no exaggeration to say that Eason and Thompson could be the best defensive wing duo in the NBA soon.

Is that the future of the Rockets?

Rockets should not split up the 'Terror Twins'

The future of the Rockets is too unknown to make definitive statements.

The Rockets may pursue Giannis Antetokounmnpo in the summer. If so, they're likely to include Thompson in a package. Their overlapping shooting weakness makes them a questionable duo.

Moreover, the Rockets may still have a vision of Thompson playing point guard. It feels like a century ago that Thompson was billed as a 6'7" floor general coming into the league, but he's only in the infancy stages of his sophomore campaign.

Either way, the Rockets need to keep this tandem together barring a trade for an MVP-level player. They're the optimal pair to minimize Sengun's limitations. Eason's hot shooting in 2024-25 makes him an especially snug fit with the star big man. Thompson may never come around as a shooter, but if Sengun does, they can play together as well.

They could come to define the Rockets' identity.