The Houston Rockets skyrocketed to the top of the Western conference this season. Sure the Oklahoma City Thunder were the best team far and away, but in terms of the rest of the conference, it was the Rockets that finished second.
They did it with a young core that’s no older than 23 years old, no less. It was a significant feat, but losing Game 7 to a team that had to get into the playoff field via the play-in tournament, will overshadow that. Rockets fans, don’t let the early playoff exit shake your confidence in your team.
Houston showed it’s ready to move from the rebuilding phase to the contending phase. And the best thing about this season was the young core that features Jalen Green, Jabari Smith Jr., Alpren Sengun and Amen Thompson got valuable experience as the Rockets turned the corner.
The Houston Rockets get glimpse prosperous future despite first round NBA playoffs loss
One of two things can happen, following the Rockets first-round loss to the Golden State Warriors. They’ll either turn into what the Oklahoma City Thunder have become with a core that can be around for quite some time and be productive.
Or they could end up like the Memphis Grizzlies that has a core that looks like it’s already reached its peak. This is eerily similar to what happened with the Grizzlies when they went two-straight seasons as the No. 2 seed in the Western conference.
That translated to just one series win. Houston can’t flop like that. They have a younger and arguably, better core than the Grizzlies. Their biggest problem is their offense is centered around spreading the ball. That’s not a problem, but like in Game 7 when you need a player to take over, they didn’t have that.
Thompson is a one-dimensional scorer so he probably won’t be the player that can take over, Green is probably the team's best option to be a late-game clutch player, but he went quiet against the Warriors.
Ime Udoka has to figure out who that go-to player is or use the offseason to bring one in. This Rockets team has all the pieces to be just as good as the Thunder for years to come, this season proved that.
This playoff loss to the Warriors won’t feel good as a Rockets fan, but you know what, it gives you a lot to be appreciative of going into next season.