The Houston Rockets have acknowledged that they did not have enough this season to truly compete at the highest level. Their assessment showed that the absence of several of the high-value vets in the playoffs were a major key behind their early exit and an up-and-down regular season. With the return of Kevin Durant, Fred VanVleet, and Steven Adams likely for next season, the Rockets are placing heightened significance on maximizing the impact of their veterans. The Rockets felt the negative effects of missing their lead guard throughout the season. Of course, players like Amen Thompson and Reed Sheppard were able to get lead guard experience and improve as ball handlers, the ball security provided by VanVleet isn't a skill shared by any of his teammates. VanVleet's ability to run the pick-and-roll with Alperen Şengün was an integral part of Houston's offense during the team's first playoff run of the new era.…