The Rockets in the post-Harden era had a 20-62-negative record last season, ranking the last one in the league. For a team consisting almost entirely of young players, this result is very fair. The good news is that last year’s four consecutive long defeats did not extinguish the fighting spirit of these young people (15 consecutive defeats at the beginning of the season, 8 consecutive defeats before and after the All-Star, 2-March 12 consecutive defeats, and 7 consecutive defeats at the end of the season), the core members led by Jay Green have made significant progress. The Talent Conference in the summer of 2023 was full of talent. Wen Banya Ma and Skut Henderson were bound to trigger a new round of tank war (rotten) in the league, whether active or passive, the Rockets are likely to be one of them. The good news is that this is completely in line with their reconstruction timeline and does not require too much extra cost, but even if it is rotten, the Rockets also have a lot of work to finish in the new season.
During the off-season, the main signings were: little Jamari-Smith (third in sequence), tarry-Ethan (17th in sequence), little Thai-Washington (29th in sequence), Boban-Marianovic, Derek-feworth
Major losses during the offseason: John Wall, Schroeder, Christian Wood
Forecast of major rotation in the new season
Starter: Jay Green, little Kevin PROTONIC, little Jamari Smith, Jessie N-Tate, Alperon-Shen Jing
Main rotations: Eric Gordon, Kenyon Martin, Josh Christopher, tarry Ethan, Derek feworth, Garrison-Matheus, Usman-garouba
Offseason operation:
Basketable nets where twin stars Durant and Owen go is the hottest topic in the trading market this summer, but it has nothing to do with Houston, indeed, there have been reports that basketable Nets intentionally pulled the rocket into a three-party deal to retrieve his first round of signing, but Stone (rocket manager) obviously wouldn’t do that.
Stone completed two transactions this summer, and the “scale” is quite considerable. Unfortunately, the scale here only refers to the number of people. The details of the transaction are not important. What we need to know is that the main scorer Wood in the team finally left last year, and the rocket’s harvest was the first round of signing.
The draft conference is really a battlefield worthy of attention. The rocket was pleasantly surprised to get the little Jamari Smith who was once regarded as the top hit in the third place, he got rid of Ethan again in the 17th order. Smith has a minor injury and is in the recovery stage. Ethan played a super performance in the preseason. From now on, Stone has made great achievements in his main battlefield.
Outlook for the new season:
Stephen Silas started his third coach season with a record of 37 wins and 117 losses. Unfortunately, his performance next year should still not be significantly improved. Houston’s goal is very clear, and it will continue to accumulate assets under the condition of ensuring the top five of the league. Silas’s work is very heavy. Although the candidates for dual-core in the team have been very clear, Jay Green and Smith deserve long-term training and Reliance, even they are only unprocessed Jade, not to mention the other long list of names in the rotation list, each of which is so young and talented. Now is the most painful and happy moment.
1. Is Jay Green and little Jabari Smith enough to support Houston’s future?
Green’s rookie year was full of stories. His start was not good. As a scorer, half of the scores in the first 12 games failed to double, followed by a small injury to his left hamstring, he was absent for 15 games because of this, and his state still did not improve after he came back. When criticism and doubts from the outside world continued to fall like numerous snowflakes, the young man suddenly broke out and got 22.1 points after the All-Star match, with a real hit rate. In the final stage of the season, he cut a single game for more than 30 consecutive. In ending war, he scored 41 points against Eagle Green, which ended his first year of his career perfectly. From the perspective of long-term development, green is undoubtedly full of talent, but at this stage he still has obvious defects. Projection selection and organization still need to be polished, and defense needs to be practiced hard. After Wood leaves the team in the new season, Green will become the first choice for the team to attack. Maybe he can’t surprise the fans too much in terms of record, but he is expected to make great progress in terms of data and maturity.
Smith’s situation is very similar to Green’s. Before the draft conference, many teams, including rockets, thought Smith was the best choice, but they all made this judgment based on their potential, instead of combat capability. As a number four player, Smith’s projection ability is quite outstanding, and his sense of smell at the defensive end is also a godsend. This big man has the ability to break fast. Imagine that as long as it develops properly, the rocket can have a rasard Lewis with stronger athletic ability and better defense in the power forward position. In terms of technical characteristics, Smith perfectly meets the requirements of the fourth player in this era and is also the perfect partner around Green. However, the key is that he is still too young, the creativity of attacking with the ball is quite limited, and the weakness of figure also needs a lot of strength training to make up for it.
Is Green and Smith enough to support Houston’s future? These are two young people whose advantages and disadvantages are so obvious. The good news is that they came to a suitable place at the right time and their own development is in line with the team timeline, what they have to do now is to calm down and polish everything about themselves, and keep the spirit and will in the constant defeat. The rocket was lucky that it had gained enough core to build a team in just two years. All it needed was time to catalyze everything.
2. Is entertainment implemented to the end? Or looking for a stable backcourt lineup? Is Kevin-PROTONIC suitable for rockets?
Happy troubles, beside Green and Smith, the Rockets also have a group of younger players, of course, there are also several veterans. Due to the large number of young people, the Rockets competition last season was full of entertainment, with fast pace, frequent conversion, and continuous explosion and three points. Last year, the rocket ranked second in the league in terms of attack speed, and ranked first in the league in terms of fast attack score and conversion frequency, creating a large number of fouls against its opponents, but at the same time, their error rate was also the highest in the league, opponents can get 21.2 points through their mistakes in each match. The scene of the game was really lively, but the result was that both offensive and defensive efficiency ranked the second last in the league.
The young people of the rocket seem to be going through such a stage. The tactic is to run, with almost no plan. There are young people around them. Everyone is full of talent, but the technology and decision-making ability need to be improved. Everyone doesn’t want to hold the ball for more than 4 seconds, and just wants to pour enthusiasm into the game with constant high-speed turn-back running.
The game scene was a little chaotic. Too many young people were the primary reason. Silas was still adjusting, but the players in the back court were obviously to blame. The point guard is the brain of the team. Kevin-PROTONIC does not seem to be very suitable for becoming a commander. Compared with the organization, most of the time he prefers to use personal attacks to solve problems, last season, he scored 15.6 points on average, and the three-point hit rate also rose to a new high of 37.5 percent in his career, but the overall hit rate was only 41.5 percent of the unqualified ones, and the average hit rate was 3.1 times, this well reflects his shortcomings in attacking choices.
There is still one year to prove himself in PROTONIC. His contract will expire after the end of the new season. Stone did not hand over the signature pen to PROTONIC this summer. I believe he knows his situation very well, and what needs to be done in the new year.
3. Compared with wenbanyama, the rocket may need Henderson more?
If almost all teams in the league regard Wen banyama as the definite candidate for next year’s champion, the rockets may be one of the few teams that need Henderson more.
There are indeed many talents in the Rockets, but compared with the front court composed of Shen Jing, Smith, Tate, Martin and Ethan, the back court is obviously bleak. Kevin-PROTONIC often burns CPU, and round face is not good at organizing. Due to age problems, it will gradually fade out of the lineup. Christopher and little Thai-Washington cannot rely on it at present. Knicks? Knicks, forget it.
Henderson’s heart is quite high, and in previous interviews, he was dissatisfied with the outside world’s ranking behind Wen banama. In the two performance matches held at the beginning of the month, Henderson directly picked Wen banyama several times and scored 28 points and 9 assists in a single match. For a young team like rockets, adding a talented defender with such a tough game temperament should greatly accelerate the reconstruction process.
From a technical point of view, the Rockets also need a defender with a figure and strength. Henderson’s projection and breakthrough techniques have been quite mature. From the observation of the contents of the Development League competition last season, he was very good at cooperating with his inner teammates, and his vision of crossing the outer line was also quite excellent. The characteristic of the Development League is that everyone plays the ball by himself, especially the lighting team, but Henderson still can send 4.2 assists in the game.
The reason why the rocket did not renew the contract for PROTONIC this summer was that Stonton was observing candidates including Henderson to some extent. The most perfect ending may be that the Rockets draw the first prize and then trade down to gain the guard that the team needs most at present.
The strongest defender in the draft next year! Henderson scored 28 points and 9 assists in many challenges
4. How to deal with a large amount of salary space? Is there any deal? Which young people can stand out?
Before the start of the 23-24 season, there are still a large number of players in the Rockets who need to make judgments. As a center, Shen Jing has demonstrated outstanding organizational skills, however, his mistakes that make people cry and laugh and his tragic defensive level make it difficult for the rocket management to regard it as the absolute long-term choice for the No. 5 starting.
Does Thai-Washington have a chance to enter the rotation lineup in the first year? Christopher’s physical condition is very good, but the technology still needs to be polished. Garuba showed some good passing ability in the European Championship, but his projection was really not enough for NBA level.
Tari-Ethan
Ethan was the biggest surprise this summer. In the preseason match, he could get 20+10, and the number of rebounds in the front court reached 5.3. His athletic ability exploded and his defense was quite bright, but can he improve his projection and decision-making power? Moreover, the left-hand ability also needs to be developed.
Ethan’s excellent performance in preseason:
Little Kenyon Martin is another energetic young man, but it seems that he is no longer the main choice for the team’s power forward. According to reports from many journalists, martin may be traded before the end of the preseason. The 20-year-old Knicks played well in the Development League last season. Can he become a qualified NBA-level shooter?
Round face Brother Deng’s salary in the new season is 19.5 million dollars, and there is no guarantee in the 23-24 season. It is no secret that he has many pursuers in the market. The Rockets are likely to send him to a competition team before the trading deadline, to continue accumulating assets.
The rocket’s defense was really bad, but strangely, they had a qualified Ace Lock dead-Tate. The rocket used a very reasonable contract this summer ($21 million in 3 years) leave him behind. In addition, Matthews also renewed his contract with the team for two years. Both of them are very good, but they will not play a key role in the team’s record, just a qualified puzzle.
The current guarantee contract of the rockets in the 23-24 season is only 48 million dollars. Even if they really get a rising star in the talent show, there will still be a salary space close to 70 million dollars, enough to sign two top-salary players. How to make decisions will be quite interesting. Stone will choose to sign big cards to hit the record with Green, Smith and another potential Gao Shun rookie, or use these spaces to eat the junk contract and continue to exchange for the selection right?
Summary:
For the Rockets, the 22-23 season is only a transitional year, and the development of green and Smith will be the absolute focus. Behind these two super newcomers, how to find out other teammates who can rebuild the glory of the Space City with them will be another main line. This team is still very young and will still make many mistakes and learn lessons on the court. However, I hope they can become more disciplined in the new season, both on the court and on the court, the content of the competition should not be too fragmented and entertaining. The reconstruction period of the rocket is still on the road, and the thorns are certainly full of hope.