After a rather successful 23-24 exercise, the Houston Rockets have greater ambitions to make the Playoffs. Has the Texas franchise found solutions to get through this season? That’s the whole question that needs to be asked.
A promising season
Last season of the Rockets had several very distinct moments. First of all, the Rockets have shifted gears in their rebuild. No longer being the dunces of the NBA, Houston wanted to play spoilsport in a well-stocked Western conference. To give himself the means to achieve his ambitions, veterans Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks arrived in Texas, as did Ime Udoka. The former Celtics coach had his work cut out for him. Between integrating new people and managing young people, the implementation took its time.
While we were heading straight into a new gloomy season, the turning point came in March. When Alperen Sengun was injured, Jalen Green was transformed. In the space of a month, he became the reincarnation of Michael Jordan. The guard averaged 27 points on 49% shooting and 41 on 3-pointers. In his wake, the Rockets racked up 11 consecutive victories to put pressure on the Warriors in the race for 10th place.
Houston collapsed once April came and ended up missing the Play-In. Despite this spring disappointment, Ime Udoka’s men succeeded in their initial objective: to leave the depths of the West to compete with the Play-In teams.
Take (almost) the same ones and start again
This summer, the front office chose to keep this same base. No big movement in the offseason, except for the Draft. Thanks to the James Harden trade, Brooklyn warmly offered its pick 3 to the Rockets. A choice that became Reed Sheppard. The former Kentucky resident brings real offensive added value. We’re still talking about a guy who shot 52% from 3-point range in college. Once again, who do we say thank you? Thank you Nets. With this latest addition, the Houston Rockets can aim for the Playoffs.
The main reinforcements on the Texas side are those returning from injury, starting with Steven Adams. We tend to forget it, but Aquaman’s double is indeed a Rockets player. Arriving from Memphis at the trade deadline, he will position himself as Sengun’s backup. We are clearly looking for a luxury replacement. Another return, that of Tari Eason. Complicated season for the interior bouncer who played only 22 matches. Even though his injury problems are behind him, Houston is not going to take any risks. It would be totally normal to see his minutes limited at the start of the season.
A balance to find
This Houston Rockets 24-25 roster is deep. All positions are lined up correctly to compensate for possible injuries. The accumulation of these young people can cause serious problems when it comes to talking about money and contract extension, but for the moment that is not the subject.
No, the Rockets have another problem, a very real one this time. How to make Alperen Sengun and Jalen Green work together? The duo is struggling to perform to the point that it was considering a trade of number 4 at the deadline while the Turk was in discussions for the All-Star Game. Except that when he was injured, the fullback carried Houston on his back. Ime Udoka must find a balance between these two strong players. What if we told you that, in reality, this hierarchy did not need to be found? The Rockets coach spoke, firstly, to the Celtics where he managed to get two strong players to work together: Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. What if Udoka repeated the operation in Houston where, in an ideal world, he would manage to make Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun two perfectly complementary number 1 options.
A place for the Houston Rockets in the Western jungle?
Houston’s (great) hopes need to be put into perspective. In a Western Conference that is denser than ever, do the Rockets have the weapons to go to the Playoffs? On paper yes, in practice a little less. If the post-season must remain the number 1 objective, would not participating in it be a failure? Not so much. The Rockets must pass a milestone and qualifying for the Play-In in 7 or 8 could show that this milestone has been passed. Afterwards clearly, if they arrive 9 or 10 completely flushed and they are opened by, randomly, the Suns in the Play-In, then yes the season will be a failure.
With 12 or even 13 teams if we count the Spurs who have Playoff ambitions, good luck to the Rockets to find a place in there.
In any case, the Rockets are working well and making progress. A qualification for the Playoffs would be well deserved to underline the good work that has been done.
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