Houston Rockets Minicamp Footage Reveals Some Interesting Details

The long wait for Houston Rockets fans continues, as August and September are typically the quietest months of the offseason. Thankfully, we had basketball earlier in the month, just not the Rockets. Olympic basketball, however, helps during the dog days of summer.

Luckily, on Tuesday afternoon, Rockets fans were treated to footage of the previously announced mini-camp. A few weeks ago, The Athletic’s Kelly Iko reported that Jalen Green would be hosting a mini-camp in Los Angeles, and today, we got a sneak peek at what went down on the court.

Courtesy of Swish culture On X, we saw several Rockets players make plays during camp. Alperen Sengun, Jabari Smith, Cam Whitmore, and Reed Sheppard were some of the Rockets who appeared in highlights.

Off-season workouts aren’t new and you generally shouldn’t draw too many conclusions from them as players run at half-speed to avoid injury, but sometimes there are little details that stand out. In the various videos, players like Green, Sengun and Smith are showing some of the same skills we saw from them last season.

You can also use these practices to understand the chemistry that’s created on the court. Even if they’re playing at half-speed, players can better understand where their teammates like to put the ball on the court. This is especially helpful when playing with a rookie like Reed Sheppard, who has never been on the court with his Rockets teammates.

Another observation from the footage is how some players have bulked up in the offseason. Smith Jr. is building his frame to play in the paint against bigger defenders. Coming into the NBA as one of the youngest players ever, it will take time for him to build up his strength, and it appears he is on the right track.

One final detail that has caught the eye is Sheppard’s shooting. Of course, once the season starts he won’t always have as much room to maneuver and will have to face better defenders, but Sheppard’s quickness of the shot and his high basketball IQ are two aspects that will help him succeed against any level of competition.

The NBA regular season is still over two months away, but today’s footage showed some interesting details about what to expect for the upcoming season.

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