Houston Rockets: Ready for launch?

Coming into the season, the Rockets had the young roster to compete for a play-in spot and improve from their 11-seed finish in the west last season.

They’ve surpassed expectations though as the veterans Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks have meshed with the young core of Alperen Sengun and Jalen Green nicely.

VanVleet and Brooks even with inefficient shooting seasons have helped this team become ready for any stylistic matchup. They provide the championship and playoff experience every team needs to successfully develop the young core the Rockets have.

Sengun, averaging 19 points and 10.7 rebounds per game, has developed into a great offensive hub for Houston with Green showing immense potential to be a do-it-all scorer as he has averaged 19.3 points per game.

In addition, Houston’s defense has stepped up this season under head coach Ime Udoka.

They are third in points allowed and first in rebounds per game averaging 50.1 rebounds a night, including grabbing the most second-chance opportunities with 14.4 offensive rebounds per game.

Making Udoka the head coach was a decision the Rockets and their ownership hit out of the park as he already proved to bring an unmatched, defensive mentality to a young, hungry 2022 Celtics team that ended up reaching the finals.

In their second and third year, Amen Thompson and fellow bench forward Tari Eason have truly improved Houston’s perimeter defense and have been the keys to their defensive success.

They both average over one steal a game with Eason averaging a team-high 2.1 steals. The young defensive duo has encapsulated what Udoka has wanted his team to prioritize.

Although they lost in the first round of the NBA in-season tournament to the Warriors, winning their in-season tournament cup group as they sit with a 15-8 record and the second seed in the west is a great sign for them moving forward in the season.

Competing against teams with championship-level standards is impressive and they are executing when facing those opponents, beating the Thunder most recently.

Their young core of Sengun, Green, Jabari Smith Jr., and Amen Thompson has the potential to reach the standard of a championship core if they continue developing.

It would be wrong to sleep on the Rockets when trying to project who the best teams could be in the foreseeable future. They are ready and waiting with their contributors to explode off launch into the true contender discussion.

Owen Daszko is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, emailopd5073@psu.edu.