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HOUSTON — To the untrained eye, Rockets guard Fred VanVleet’s mild-mannered, almost stoic demeanor could have come across as unenthusiastic. But as the veteran guard sat at the podium fielding reporters’ questions, arms folded and tucked, his gaze piercing through the room, it was clear the fire within — a flame dampened after a lost season — was flickering again.
“I’ve been progressing nicely,” VanVleet said at Rockets media day on Monday. “These things don’t always go how you plan them to go. But to be where I am right now, with the season opener 30 days out, I feel really good. It’s gonna be a process still, but I’m sure what you guys see won’t be the finished product. I’m in a really good spot.”
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It’s been nearly a year to the day that VanVleet tore his right ACL. Twelve months of rigorous rehab, patience (and impatience) and observation. Twelve months of watching his younger, less experienced teammates be thrust into positions with accelerated expectations. Twelve months of conversations with Kevin Durant and head coach Ime Udoka, attempting to visualize how the team could — and should — look with all of the Rockets’ moving pieces fully assimilated and healthy.
There’s an underrated feeling, an unspoken joy, in things simply being normal.
“It’s more of what we envisioned last year coming into it,” Udoka said. “Talking to Kevin, he’s excited just being back in the gym with some veteran guys out there. Our young guys have all taken steps and grown this offseason. It puts guys in their natural positions … gives us a lot of optimism.”
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The plan to fully work VanVleet back into the rotation will take time. Although he’s been cleared for full 5-on-5 contact play, he won’t play in back-to-backs (Houston has five between October and December). And make no mistake, the Rockets will need every minute of him they can muster.
VanVleet is best served as a palate cleanser, a calming change-of-pace organizer that is an extension of Udoka on the floor. Houston led the league in high-leverage minutes last season, possessions that largely impact wins and losses based on time, score and…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/rockets-fred-vanvleet-ready-for-training-camp-kevin-durant-doesnt-want-minutes-reduced-in-20th-season-212122351.html
Author : Kelly Iko
Publish date : 2026-09-22 21:21:00
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