The Houston Rockets have made the leap. From three straight awful losing seasons to one .500 year to now, one of the best teams in the Western Conference, their fortunes have changed as their players have aged and their coaching staff improved. This is a young, talented, dynamic group that is still learning how to play together, but winning in the process.
It’s a far cry from just two seasons ago, going from one of the worst defensive teams in basketball to one of the best. There are still improvements that must be made to vault them into the upper echelon of teams in the NBA, but their future moving into the new year is bright.
They are right to keep things status quo…for now.
Despite names like Jimmy Butler and others on the trade block, GM Rafael Stone has let it be known the team plans to play with what they have, at least for this season. It’s the smart move. Signing an older veteran on a team that isn’t likely to have championship aspirations just yet doesn’t move the needle. This group deserves a chance to improve and see how far they can go, at least for the rest of the year. In the offseason, depending on individual play this spring, there will be decisions to be made. Until then, let it ride and see where it goes.
The biggest learning curve remains consistency.
Jalen Green began the year shooting 40 percent from three and on a tear offensively. Then, he had a slump. He has recovered to streaks bouncing between single-digit scoring and flirting with career highs, sometimes in back-to-back games. Green’s play is a mirror of the entire team, which has had some tremendous wins and some awful losses. Such is the nature of a bunch of young players like these. The hope is they will grow up fully this season and we will start to see fewer ups and downs. Certainly, that consistency defensively and in specific areas like turnovers have been bright spots. Can they do that on both ends for four quarters? That’s the question.
Amen Thompson and Tari Eason are critically important to this team.
The Terror Twins have put their mark on the Rockets this year, wreaking havoc on second team squads and generally making the Rockets defensive engines blast off. Eason continues to battle injuries here and there, but when he plays, particularly with Thompson, it is a huge difference for the Rockets. This is a team without a star name player and everyone wonders if one will emerge despite Coach Ime Udoka’s beliefs in teamwork and the next-man-up mentality. At the moment, they don’t need a big time star, particularly when they have potent role players like Eason and a budding talent in Thompson.
There is no more important improvement than shooting.
Above all else, there is not a single thing this team needs more than shooting. They drafted Reed Sheppard to bring consistency from deep into the mix, but he is a rookie and it shows. Dillon Brooks (38 percent) is the only rotation player shooting better than 35 percent from three. As a team, the Rockets are 29th in distance shooting, but also 25th in overall field goal percentage.
Yet, they remain 10th in overall offensive rating thanks to offensive rebounding and how rarely they turn the ball over. Still, when they go into a shooting funk (as they did against Minnesota, losing a 16-point lead with under five minutes to play), it gets ugly quickly, especially in a league so dominated by the three point shot. If the Rockets were to make any moves during the season, even a minor deal for a shooter would be the move to make.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2024.
