Average 21+6 per game! Congratulations to the Rockets!

There is no limit to being young, and the rocket rookie Whitmore has completely exploded. He was born on July 8, 2004, and is not yet 20 years old. Whitmore has averaged 21 points and 6.4 rebounds in 21.6 minutes per game in his last five games, shooting 50.7 percent, 41.7 percent and 82.4 percent from three. After being ridiculed for half a season, he finally broke out!

Why was Whitmore ridiculed? It all started with the 2023 NBA Draft. Prior to the draft, Whitmore was predicted to be a top-5 pick, with the Rockets holding the No. 4 pick and being very happy with Whitmore's tryout. As a result, the Rockets selected Amen Thompson with the 4th pick and Whitmore with the 20th pick.

I thought I was the No. 4 pick, but I fell all the way out of the lotto, and Whitmore looked very ugly off the court. In an interview, Whitmore was very confident that he wanted to prove what he was capable of. When it comes to his goals for the new season, Whitmore said, "Lock up James and Brother Alphabet, lock up Leonard!"

In the summer league, Whitmore averaged 19.3 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2.5 steals and 2.3 turnovers per game, shooting 44.7% from the field and 28.6% from three-point range, and was elected as the MVP of the summer league! In the preseason, he was extremely inefficient, averaging 11.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, 0.6 assists, 0.8 turnovers and 1.4 steals per game, shooting 37.5% from the field and 27.3% from three-point range.

After the start of the regular season, Whitmore was completely lost. In the first three games of his career, he played a total of 23 minutes, shooting 3-of-9, 0-of-3 from three-point range, and 1-of-2 from the free-throw line, totaling 7 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 2 turnovers. After playing these 3 games, the Rockets directly relegated him to the Development League. From this time on, the taunt accompanied Whitmore.

In November, only three regular season games were played, and in December, the same three games were played. The fans who chanted "Team Rockets successfully picked up the leak" stopped talking. Unexpectedly, entering January, Whitmore was suddenly reused and entered the Rockets rotation lineup. You can take a look at his playing time and game stats:

So far this season, Whitmore has played 25 games for the Rockets, averaging 16.7 minutes per game, scoring 11.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, 0.4 assists, 0.7 steals and 0.6 turnovers while shooting 49.1%, 39.8% and 67.3% from three. In the latest rookie list, Whitmore has risen to No. 7, and it is not too much to say that he is the No. 4 pick, right?

Next up is the real No. 4 pick, Amen Thompson, who was plagued by injuries and had a 40-day break from Nov. 2 to Dec. 12. In the Rockets' big win over the Raptors on February 3, Amen Thompson played 24 minutes off the bench, scoring 19 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 1 block on 9-of-11 shooting.

Whitmore is a finisher and Amen Thompson is an all-around forward who can play and defend, so the chemistry between the two is good. Thompson played in 29 games this season, averaging 16.6 minutes per game, with 6.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.3 turnovers while shooting 49.7%, 17.1% and 69.6% from three.

Thompson's outside shooting percentage is too low, and he has to practice well in the offseason. With the rise of two youngsters, Jalen Green may be leaving. NBA Athletic Sam Amick reports that the Rockets are not using Jalen Green as a building block and are open to sending him away. Because the Rockets know that it is impossible to renew all the young players.

Do you think the Rockets should send away Jalen Green and develop Whitmore and Amen Thompson?