The Rockets have one insurmountable obstacle in their championship pursuit

Heading into this season, it was clear that the Houston Rockets' guard situation would be something to monitor. In order to mitigate the effects of Fred VanVleet's absence, it was apparent that players like Amen Thompson and Reed Sheppard would undoubtedly have to step out of their comfort zones.

This season both of these players have been forced to assume new niches in the offense. While Sheppard has been playing more extensive and heavier minutes, Thompson has been starting at the point guard position.

The former of these adjustments has somehow been going even worse than skeptics such as myself would've anticipated.

Reed Sheppard's minutes have been extremely discouraging

Sheppard has averaged an unserviceable nine points, 2.5 assists and 2.5 turnovers per game on 27.3 FG%. These poor stats have been accurately reflected by the eye test too, as he's been slow to get rid of the ball at times and has had rather poor shot selection. This shot selection reached its absolute rock bottom in the clutch against OKC when he opted to drive in for a heavily contested layup instead of passing to KD, who was clearly signaling for the ball.

Sheppard has also been a huge liability on the defensive end with opposing teams actively looking to exploit his weakness. Even though Sheppard's hands allow him to accumulate a good amount of steals, his feet are just so slow to adjust to any opposing movement, causing him to be blown by on far too many occasions.

The only truly redeeming factor of his play has been his stellar 3-point shooting. Thus far, he has been shooting 45.5% from beyond the arc. Even with the sample size being so minuscule, this is observably better than his 3PT% of 33.8 from last year. Though Sheppard has faltered as a ball handler and overall decision-maker, perhaps he could excel as a 3-point specialist who is utilized purely in catch-and-shoot situations.

Amen Thompson has severely underperformed in his new role

While not nearly as discouraging as Sheppard has been, Thompson has also appeared out-of-place in his new role. Through two games, he has averaged 14 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 turnovers per game. As the sample size is so small, Thompson's scoring and efficiency isn't too much to worry about; however, his low assists and poor assist-turnover ratio is reflective of a larger issue.

With Thompson at the point, the Rockets' offense has looked extremely uncoordinated. There has been lackluster ball movement, and far too often, this disorientation has culminated in players who really have no business running isolation doing so.

As Thompson has shown promise and continually grown each season, he should be given the benefit of the doubt. The transition to the starting PG spot was never going to be seamless, especially in light of the Fred VanVleet injury and the massive changes to the roster this offseason. With that being said, the inherent offensive flaws with Thompson at the point and the lack of any real potential exhibited from him at that spot is cause for concern.

The Rockets are not ready to contend just yet

More or less, these first two games have been consistent with my initial prediction: the Rockets will likely not be championship contenders this year. However, that's not to say these prevailing offensive flaws can't be minimized or solved to some extent.

Despite losing to the Pistons, in the late game, the Rockets stumbled onto one of the many advantages of having Kevin Durant. The way that defenses start scrambling once he gets the hot hand. The doubles that KD draws, as seen against the Pistons, will open up several avenues offensively as all the Rockets will have to do is just find the open man. If Amen can adequately feed the ball to KD, this could generate offense which is far superior to what was seen for the majority of these first two games.

What appears to be another leap from Alperen Sengun, as an overall player and playmaker, could also serve as a remedy to the Rockets' delicate guard situation. So far, he has averaged 7 assists per game. Additionally, he had a particularly stellar shooting night against the Thunder, sinking 5 of his 8 three-point attempts. By running the offense more through Sengun and KD and also exploring their pick-and-roll, the Rockets can better equip themselves for success going forward.

At least until Dorian Finney-Smith comes back, the Rockets may not play a very appealing brand of basketball. Especially with Reed Sheppard playing extensive minutes. Their guard depth in the absence of Fred VanVleet will also keep them from making a significant run this year. However, there are still many levels on which the Rockets can improve this year.

And this could make all this adversity worth it in the long run.