Analysis of the Rockets point guard selection: Lao Fan + 2 White in the first rotation? Capela + second rotation Dunn?

Translator's Note: This article was originally published in "The Dream Shake" by Anthony Duckett. The data in the article are as of the time of publication of the original article (November 1, local time). The opinions in the article have nothing to do with the translator and the platform.

The Rockets have struggled to get their offense going this season. Last year's team wasn't exactly elite offensively, but it was much better, even without Kevin Durant, one of the greatest scorers of all time. Even with the same twin-tower lineup, Jabari Smith was not a regular starter at the time, and the team was paired with Jaylen Green and Dillon Brooks on the wings. Obviously, the missing link is Fred VanVleet, one of the most stable point guards in the league, whose assist-to-turnover ratio ranks among the top in the league. No matter how you evaluate VanVleet, he does have a lot of critics, but he can effectively organize and sort out the team's offense.

So far, the Rockets' most prominent shortcoming is the back line. They had tremendous difficulty advancing off the dribble. Against a team like the Brooklyn Nets, this issue is less of a problem. But when encountering truly competitive teams like the Thunder and Pistons, this disadvantage may become difficult to overcome.

But the Rockets have limited options to replace VanVleet, unless they give up a key role player or directly trade VanVleet himself - which requires his own consent because he has an implicit no-trade clause.

However, the Rockets are not completely unable to solve this problem. No, they do have a solution. But it won't be easy. They could easily poach a second-tier role player off another team's bench. But it's difficult to determine whether these people can be the key players to change the situation in the long term.

The Rockets can also use VanVleet's $25 million salary as a trading chip in exchange for a truly usable puzzle piece.

For any championship contending team, balancing such a huge contract is not easy, especially for those teams that are facing hard salary cap restrictions. But Derrick White might be a viable replacement for Houston. Even if he looks like a smaller version of his prime (which he isn't).

He was simply asked to take on a role for which he was not suited - serving as a top scorer on a team that was not competitive. His best role is as a glue role player on a championship contending team.

He has become one of the best perimeter defenders in the league many years ago. Many thought he would make the leap to an All-Star this season in the absence of Tatum and Jrue Holiday.

Derrick White's playmaking ability is often underestimated, especially in creating opportunities for penetrating players or pass-through players. During the past three seasons with the Celtics, his average assists per game has been stable at around 5 times.

At the same time, he is also a reliable outside shooter, although this is not the case based on this season's data-he averaged 11 three-pointers per game and shot only 25%. Part of that is due to the wrist injuries he's been dealing with.

There is enough data to prove that his sluggish performance this season is only a temporary slump. In fact, in last season's Eastern Conference semifinals, he averaged 10.8 three-point attempts per game and shot 40 percent from the field.

For the Rockets to get White from Boston, they will likely need to take a first-round pick (or even two) and add VanVleet's contract, and VanVleet himself must agree to the deal because he has an implicit no-trade clause.

But White will soon prove himself worthy of the price, as Udoka will once again know how to get the most out of him.

Another relatively low-hanging fruit could be Kris Dunn of the Los Angeles Clippers. Of course, he is not a famous name, but for the Rockets, who are in urgent need of reinforcements, there is not much room for pickiness.

Dunn performed very well at the beginning of this season and is fully qualified to compete for the Best Sixth Man award. Fans have also called for him to start with Harden. On the offensive end, he is a very good cutting defender, and on the defensive end, he always goes all out and can put pressure on his opponents from all over the court. It is not easy for opponents to break through Dunn's defense and cut into the penalty area.

And he was able to maintain full dynamism throughout the game, willing to take on the dirty work that others tend to avoid. He is also able to dribble past half-court and make correct tactical judgments. He is an experienced veteran defender with extremely high football intelligence. His outside shooting performance has been pretty good recently, with a three-point shooting percentage of 37.5% this season. Just three seasons ago, when he played for the Utah Jazz, although there were not many capable teammates around him, as an organizer, he was still able to average 5.6 assists per game. The Rockets can use Clint Capela and probably a second-round pick as a bargaining chip to get Dunn. This would be a very reasonable deal, but the deal won't be finalized until after December 15.