After a blowout victory over the underwhelming Utah Jazz, the Houston Rockets have clinched their first playoff appearance since the 2019-20 NBA season, when the team was led by former franchise star James Harden.
While they can’t move up in the Western Conference Standings, they could still slip as they only sit 3 games ahead of the 3rd and 4th seeded Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets, who have clinched a spot for at least the Play-In Tournament.
It’s been quite a turnaround for the Rockets. After a last-second push in the back half of the 2023-24 season, the Rockets missed out, heartbreakingly, to contend in the Play-In Tournament. Now, they are sitting at 50 wins this year. All the credit has to go out to the young core that has been built in H-Town.
Inside a Gritty Yet Successful Rockets Rebuild
The Rockets’ success isn’t exactly coming as a surprise, as they’ve spent the last four years sitting within the top-5 picks of the NBA Draft, and we are now witnessing all of the pieces fit together.
While critics have weighed heavily on every selection the Rockets have taken since 2021, the boys from H-Town have silenced any doubters of the tedious rebuilding process as they’ve put together quite a frightening team to go up against.
Led by former 2nd overall pick Jalen Green, who is having his most efficient year thus far in his career, as well as rising Turkish native center Alperen Şengün, who is currently averaging a double-double, the Houston Rockets offer a high-powered, yet patient approach to the game that goes hand in hand with their ability to establish dominance early in games.
You also have to give credit to the veteran presence and skill they’ve added to their young core with Free Agent signings, Dillon Brooks and Fred VanVleet, who both joined the team in the offseason of the 2023-24 season. The team received a fair amount of criticism for seemingly “handing out” such lucrative deals to players that other teams shrugged off.
It seems as if criticism has followed this Rockets team ever since 2021, and while it may have taken some painful and heart-wrenching seasons to get the mesh they’ve desired, it looks like they’ve established themselves as a menacing force in the Western Conference for years to come.
