Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- The Houston Rockets faced a critical offensive shortfall in the halfcourt during their first round playoff exit.
- Their veteran guards are aging and injury-prone, highlighting an urgent need for a long-term solution at point guard.
- Early summer league performances from Bruce Thornton have sparked excitement about a potential franchise-altering development.
The 2025-26 Houston Rockets were a good basketball team. However, they were also a flawed one, as evidenced by their first round defeat to the Los Angles Lakers (who were missing their two best players).
Their biggest issue was that they lacked the ability to consistently generate offense in the halfcourt (19th in points per possession, per Cleaning the Glass). An optimist could argue that this will be corrected with Fred VanVleet and Steven Adams returning to the lineup next season. VanVleet is the team's steadying force. Their best ball-handler and passer. Meanwhile, with Adams, the Rockets' inability to generate clean looks on their first attempt becomes less damaging, as Adams has the singular ability to dominate the offensive glass.
However, VanVleet's best years are behind him, and the Rockets can't lean on a 32-year-old undersized guard to buoy their offense forever. Adams is even more unreliable. Injuries have forced the bruising big man to play less than 50 games in three of his last four seasons.
The Rockets need a more permanent fix, and they may have found it in the 2026 NBA Draft.
Bruce Thornton is looking like an absolute steal
You normally don't expect to find too much value in the second round of the draft, especially right out of the gates. However, if the early returns from the Vegas Summer League are any indication, Bruce Thornton (the 31st overall pick of the 2026 NBA Draft) may have been an absolute steal for the Rockets.
Through three games, Thornton is averaging 20.7 points, 4.3 assists, 3.7 rebounds, and 3.3 steals per game, shooting 40.9 percent from the field and 42.8 percent from 3-point range. The Rockets are 2-1 in those games.
No. 31 overall pick Bruce Thornton in the @HoustonRockets' win over Denver:
— NBA (@NBA) July 11, 2026
🚀 27 PTS (16 in 2H)
🚀 3 STL
🚀 3 3PM pic.twitter.com/ZhMV2S5TfT
This is nothing new for Thornton. He's a bruising baller (putting together one of the highest BMIs we've ever seen from a rookie guard), who can get to his spots and finish efficiently. In his last three years at Ohio State, Thornton averaged over 15 points per game each season. During his senior campaign, Thornton averaged 19.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 3.9 assists on 66.5 percent true shooting (pristine for a high volume college basketball scorer). He finished his collegiate career as the Buckeyes' all-time leading scorer.
Draft experts like Ben Pfeifer gave Thornton a late first round grade (suggesting that he may have wrongly fallen into the early part of the second) in part because of how he blends skill, patience, strength, and efficiency as an offensive player.
Still, I wouldn't get too excited if I was a fan of the Rockets. Yes, in theory, Thornton fills a clear need for the team. However, we've seen older guys have a lot of success in the summer league only to come out looking a little flat against higher-end competition in the regular season (see Nique Clifford last season). Plus, what the Rockets need is a really good halfcourt shot creator. In today's NBA, that i a very high bar to reach.
At the end of the day, it is unlikely that Thornton reaches that threshold, especially in his freshman campaign. However, it is hard not to get excited after seeing what he's done in Vegas.
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