<\/p>\n
Click here to accept Marketing cookies and load this content<\/button><\/p>\n<\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Houston Rockets guard Amen Thompson delivered a candid and emotional assessment after the team\u2019s season ended with a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.talkbasket.net\/217522-lebron-james-powers-lakers-past-rockets-in-game-6-to-seal-playoff-series\" type=\"post\" id=\"217522\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">98-78 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 6<\/a> of their Western Conference first-round series on Friday night at Toyota Center.<\/p>\n<p>The Lakers closed the series behind 28 points from LeBron James, while Houston was held to a season-low 78 points in a game defined by shooting struggles and defensive pressure.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI feel like I was locked in to the end. I really wanted to win,\u201d Thompson said. \u201cI didn\u2019t even have thoughts of what happens after.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Rockets attempted to extend their season after rallying earlier in the series, but Game 6 quickly exposed offensive limitations against a disciplined Lakers defense.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cComing out of the game, it hit for sure hard,\u201d Thompson said.<\/p>\n<p>Houston\u2019s rotation was disrupted throughout the series, with injuries affecting key veterans and forcing younger players into expanded roles. Thompson highlighted that shift as a defining theme of the season.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA lot of guys stepped up in the leadership aspect,\u201d he said. \u201cFred, Steven injured. Jeff\u2019s a good vet but he\u2019s not on the court with us all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cKev got injured at the end,\u201d Thompson added. \u201cYou saw Alpi taking steps, Reed, Jabari on the court, Tari, me too.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Rockets struggled to consistently generate clean perimeter looks in Game 6, finishing 5-of-28 from three-point range as the Lakers repeatedly loaded the paint.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey were packing the paint. They were always in shifts,\u201d Thompson said. \u201cWe were passing up shots, taking another dribble, trying to drive after another drive, and not taking the shots they gave us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Houston\u2019s late-season progress included a short playoff push after falling into an 0-3 deficit, but Thompson acknowledged the broader trend of consecutive early exits.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNow that it\u2019s happened, back to back first round exits, it\u2019s rough,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s motivation for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Despite the disappointment, Thompson emphasized individual growth in his expanded role as a primary ball handler during stretches of the season.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was very beneficial,\u201d he said. \u201cA lot of ups and downs, a lot of areas I can improve on. A lot to work on this summer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When asked about his offensive development priorities, Thompson pointed to multiple areas of focus.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI feel like I could do so much,\u201d he said. \u201cJust improving on what I already have, getting to the rim, my mid-range, my threes, just all aspects of my game really.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He also praised teammate Reed Sheppard\u2019s progression into a larger rotation role, particularly as a secondary playmaker.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI felt Reed was great this year,\u201d Thompson said. \u201cJust giving us space and being another point guard on the floor, another ball handler.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As for roster changes or offseason direction, Thompson declined to engage.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m not going to answer that. Sorry,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Houston finishes the season after consecutive first-round playoff exits, while Thompson\u2019s comments point toward a summer centered on individual development and internal growth.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.talkbasket.net\/217549-amen-thompson-reflects-on-rockets-elimination\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Click here to accept Marketing cookies and load this content Houston Rockets guard Amen Thompson delivered a candid and emotional assessment after the team\u2019s season ended with a 98-78 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 6 of their Western Conference first-round series on Friday night at Toyota Center. The Lakers closed the series […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":119602,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119600"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119600"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119600\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/119602"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119600"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119600"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119600"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Houston Rockets guard Amen Thompson delivered a candid and emotional assessment after the team\u2019s season ended with a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.talkbasket.net\/217522-lebron-james-powers-lakers-past-rockets-in-game-6-to-seal-playoff-series\" type=\"post\" id=\"217522\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">98-78 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 6<\/a> of their Western Conference first-round series on Friday night at Toyota Center.<\/p>\n<p>The Lakers closed the series behind 28 points from LeBron James, while Houston was held to a season-low 78 points in a game defined by shooting struggles and defensive pressure.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI feel like I was locked in to the end. I really wanted to win,\u201d Thompson said. \u201cI didn\u2019t even have thoughts of what happens after.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Rockets attempted to extend their season after rallying earlier in the series, but Game 6 quickly exposed offensive limitations against a disciplined Lakers defense.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cComing out of the game, it hit for sure hard,\u201d Thompson said.<\/p>\n<p>Houston\u2019s rotation was disrupted throughout the series, with injuries affecting key veterans and forcing younger players into expanded roles. Thompson highlighted that shift as a defining theme of the season.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA lot of guys stepped up in the leadership aspect,\u201d he said. \u201cFred, Steven injured. Jeff\u2019s a good vet but he\u2019s not on the court with us all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cKev got injured at the end,\u201d Thompson added. \u201cYou saw Alpi taking steps, Reed, Jabari on the court, Tari, me too.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Rockets struggled to consistently generate clean perimeter looks in Game 6, finishing 5-of-28 from three-point range as the Lakers repeatedly loaded the paint.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey were packing the paint. They were always in shifts,\u201d Thompson said. \u201cWe were passing up shots, taking another dribble, trying to drive after another drive, and not taking the shots they gave us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Houston\u2019s late-season progress included a short playoff push after falling into an 0-3 deficit, but Thompson acknowledged the broader trend of consecutive early exits.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNow that it\u2019s happened, back to back first round exits, it\u2019s rough,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s motivation for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Despite the disappointment, Thompson emphasized individual growth in his expanded role as a primary ball handler during stretches of the season.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was very beneficial,\u201d he said. \u201cA lot of ups and downs, a lot of areas I can improve on. A lot to work on this summer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When asked about his offensive development priorities, Thompson pointed to multiple areas of focus.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI feel like I could do so much,\u201d he said. \u201cJust improving on what I already have, getting to the rim, my mid-range, my threes, just all aspects of my game really.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He also praised teammate Reed Sheppard\u2019s progression into a larger rotation role, particularly as a secondary playmaker.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI felt Reed was great this year,\u201d Thompson said. \u201cJust giving us space and being another point guard on the floor, another ball handler.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As for roster changes or offseason direction, Thompson declined to engage.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m not going to answer that. Sorry,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Houston finishes the season after consecutive first-round playoff exits, while Thompson\u2019s comments point toward a summer centered on individual development and internal growth.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.talkbasket.net\/217549-amen-thompson-reflects-on-rockets-elimination\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Click here to accept Marketing cookies and load this content Houston Rockets guard Amen Thompson delivered a candid and emotional assessment after the team\u2019s season ended with a 98-78 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 6 of their Western Conference first-round series on Friday night at Toyota Center. The Lakers closed the series […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":119602,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119600"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119600"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119600\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/119602"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119600"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119600"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119600"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}