Rockets News: A blessing for Amen, a rough update for Reed

Houston Rockets fans winced. It was unthinkable:

Please, not Amen Thompson.

Thompson has arguably been the brightest spot of the Rockets' season. He's emerged as a dominant two-way force. So, the prospect of losing him for a significant spell was painful.

The playoffs are approaching. Much of what Houston does on the defensive end depends on Thompson, and his rim pressure and passing ability have also been vital on the other end.

Luckily, the Rockets should get all that back in time for the postseason.

Rockets' Amen Thompson gets encouraging diagnosis

Those three words are music to our ears:

"No structural damage".

The Rockets will miss Thompson while he's gone. This could affect their playoff seeding. That said, they should count their blessings. Thompson will be back for the playoffs.

More broadly, this has implications beyond this year. Nobody wants to see Thompson pick up a nagging injury. The Rockets are planning around him being available as a cornerstone player for years to come.

That's the most important takeaway - Thompson's career. Above all else, this young man's well-being is essential. It seems that he dodged a serious injury. Now, he can focus on short-term rehabilitation and getting back on the floor for the Rockets' prospective playoff run.

Another young Rocket may not be so lucky.

Rockets Reed Sheppard relegated to sideline

That would be Reed Sheppard. He's slated to miss a month with a thumb fracture.

It would be hard to say that this injury is killing Sheppard's momentum - he didn't have much. Yes, a recent 25-point performance against the Thunder did turn heads. Sheppard has struggled to sniff that type of productivity since. It has seemed clear that Ime Udoka didn't intend on making him a major part of his 2024-25 rotation.

Now, that will certainly hold. Sheppard may be available by playoff time, but Udoka won't look to let him return to game shape when the stakes are high. It would be surprising if Sheppard saw a minute of playoff action outside of garbage time.

That's fine. It's widely understood that we can't cast absolute judgement on Sheppard's rookie season. Unlike most high lottery picks, he landed on a competitive club. The Rockets have been more focused on winning games than developing their young players.

As with Thompson, we can only hope this injury doesn't continue to bother Sheppard. Ideally, this will be a blip on the radar of his career. Houston will be more focused on seeing progress from Sheppard next year than they are with getting him in the rotation for the playoffs:

But they will need Thompson.