Let’s fast-forward to the end of the regular season before we even start the regular season. In roughly two months, the NBA Training Camps will start. The postseason is up for discussion. Especially the NBA Rockets playoff run!
In the three seasons since they last felt that postseason intensity, the Rockets have improved their roster, hired, fired, and then hired another new coach, winning a total of 59 games.
Reasonable fans of this squad shouldn’t anticipate a sudden turnaround in their performance. However, it is plausible to anticipate that the franchise’s upgrades will put them in a position to contend for playoff participation, maybe as early as the 2023–24 season.
Reasons for the Rockets NBA Playoff Prospects Are High in 2023–2024
Let’s examine the top seven reasons why the Rockets NBA playoff chances are high in 2023–24 with that in mind.
Ime Udoka excels as a coach.
It should go without saying that this was a tremendous improvement. A feeling of credibility should be added to the helm by hiring a coach who guided his former club to the NBA Finals. If Udoka can hold his players accountable and encourage them to be their best selves, it will go a long way. First and foremost, the person in charge is where a playoff berth begins.
One of the three players—Jalen Green, Alper Engün, or Jabari Smith Jr.—leaps into prominence.
It’s critical that one of these players (ideally all of them) improves and becomes a consistent performance on the level of an All-Star. Green has the biggest potential of the three, so I’d bet on him. It’s encouraging that Smith Jr. seemed more like the anticipated prospect coming out of Auburn during his brief trip to the Las Vegas Summer League. And everything is conceivable if Engün manages to live up to the prophecy of becoming “Baby Jokic.” The team’s organisational structure will be made clear by establishing a go-to player.
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The defence gets better
Since strengthening the defence has obviously been a focus for this government, many anticipate that this will be Udoka’s calling card. The Rockets should appear much superior on that side of the ball with a plethora of adaptable and energetic wing defenders, and it will help keep more games close. It may begin to resemble lockdown szn with Fred VanVleet, Tari Eason, Dillon Brooks, Smith Jr., and projected plus defenders Cam Whitmore and Amen Thompson.
The accuracy and decision-making increase
These are related because, well, better decisions frequently result in better photographs. The decision-making category is expected to improve just by VanVleet and Thompson. Green and Kevin Porter Jr. will be able to move more off the ball as a result, allowing them to excel at what they do best: scoring. Expect to see them perform better inside the offence moving ahead, though it will still be up to them to take the proper shots and distribute when necessary.
Veteran status
We’ve been told for years that the Rockets’ locker room is immature, and now we can see just how accurate it was. With VanVleet, Brooks, Jeff Green, and Aaron Holiday joining the group, there will be more “adults” in the room and everyone will be a year older. Even though Brooks was known for his antics in Memphis, I’ll point out that they were always done to embarrass the competition, and his old teammates still have nothing but praise for him.
A powerful bench
Do you recall the Los Angeles Clippers squad from the 2019–2020 season that played the Golden State Warriors in the opening round? Before the star-studded deal that netted them Paul George and Kawhi Leonard, this was. Montrezl Harrell and Lou Williams, two former Rockets and Super Sixth Men of the Year were on that team.
What if I told you that this roster for Houston had many potential Sixth Man of the Year candidates? Would you accept my story? Given that he could put up statistics on the second unit with complete freedom, KPJ is undoubtedly a possibility. I’ll also introduce Tari Eason. He is my underdog candidate. Don’t be shocked if he works his way up to roughly 30 minutes every night even if he doesn’t start since he consistently comes up with winning plays.
The rookies are really talented.
Not because I don’t believe Thompson and Whitmore will be terrific because I do, but more so because it’s incredibly hard for a rookie to make that much of an effect in terms of getting to the playoffs, which makes this the least likely scenario in my opinion for Houston to make the postseason. My only qualification is, what if Cam Whitmore really is that fantastic? What if he just outperforms all expectations and has a physique that is most similar to Anthony Edwards’? Allow me to relax.
Reasons for the Rockets NBA Playoff Prospects Are Not High
Here are the top seven reasons why the Rockets WILL NOT qualify for the playoffs in 2023–24. We need to hear all perspectives since many of these may appear to be the opposite of the reasons they will succeed.
It’s too deep in the West.
This is the most plausible scenario of the ones mentioned in this blog. Even though the Rockets appear to be considerably improved, I’m inclined to think that the postseason drought will continue for another year if we base our hopes just on this factor.
Almost every team in the West has taken steps to support their hopes of making the playoffs in 2023–24. They may finally be removed off the list once the Portland Trail Blazers’ inevitable Damian Lillard-less era starts. There will be 12 other teams competing for a playoff spot, but I may be persuaded to let the San Antonio Spurs run the long con this year as well.
With 40 victories the previous season, the Oklahoma City Thunder qualified for the Play-In Tournament as the 10th seed. It’s still a tall goal to expect the Rockets to go from 22 to 40 victories in the span of one off-season. Although OKC did improve by 16 games last year, the margins were still quite small.
The youthful athletes don’t leap forward
This would be the most damning development, even if I don’t think it’s the main cause of this season. With so many new people in the building, an adjustment time is unavoidable, but it would be disappointing if Jalen or Jabari didn’t progress by the conclusion of the first season under Udoka. The same is true for Engin, however, I like to reserve this statement for the players selected very early in the draught.
Realising that the person you put in the top five is “just another guy” and not “the guy” may be a very humiliating experience. There is no more room for production to increase; yet, any increase in output would be appreciated.
Injuries
Any team in any sport has always known this to be true. The injury is awful. They have the power to disrupt chemistry and development. They’ll eventually ruin your season. Just let’s hope that everyone is in excellent health.
The internal defence falls short.
I debated moving this one up, but we’ll talk about it now. In order for Engün to be allowed to stay on the floor long enough to perform what he does best on the other side of the court, he will really need to demonstrate more often than not that he is a capable defender. Although Jock Landale and Green work well as backups, I’d rather not use them too frequently. Jabari may fill in at the Centre for a while, but eventually, Alpy is the giant who needs to show up.
The offseason acquisitions were insufficient.
Together with the prior point, this one is useful. The “big man who can defend” market was severely depleted when Brook Lopez’s deal obviously failed. We won’t benefit by lamenting Lopez at this stage.
Do I believe the Rockets went far enough to allay their worries in free agency? Although I’m not quite happy with how they used their resources, I’d still give them a B-minus. There is approval for the playmaking and perimeter defence that was handled. If Engün’s rim defence turns out to be effective, Brook Lopez WHO?
I’m not sure how much more the Rockets could have accomplished without going over budget given the free agents who were available. The tape will convey the story, albeit perhaps one more bit will be required.
Still unable to share the ball
Although I don’t think it will, I’ll always allow for the tiniest possible margin of error. Once more, VanVleet is a pro, and I admire Amen Thompson’s attitude towards the game. They’ll definitely improve ball movement, in my opinion. If that’s sufficient, action will be required.
Too many players are playing for too few minutes.
Is it possible to have too much depth? Crazy things have happened, but I don’t see it happening since everyone appears to have accepted the broader picture. If you go back to Jayson Tatum’s rookie season with the Boston Celtics in 2018–19, which ended with a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals, you’ll recall that his second season did not go as planned. The young cast of the 2018 squad came within a few minutes of defeating LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers thanks to players like Jaylen Brown, Terry Rozier, and Jayson Tatum.
The squad battled with a minutes constraint in 2019 when seasoned talents like Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward returned to the court. Although the squad was loaded, there was internal discontent since the guys who had supported them the year before had to take a back seat. To sum up, I don’t believe Houston will encounter that particular challenge, but sometimes less is more.
Reasons for the Rockets NBA Playoff prospects in 2023–2024. What else, in your opinion, will help the Rockets reach the postseason this season? What additional obstacles do you think will prevent them from succeeding? Tell us in the comments section below.
