After three years in the NBA’s basement following the end of the James Harden era, the Houston Rockets decided they had done enough draft lottery plundering in the summer of 2023, and opted to start trying to win more. A .500 record in the following season was not enough for the playoffs, but 52 wins this year meant a return to the postseason for the first time since 2020. And although it ended with a loss to the Golden State Warriors, the young Rockets’ first taste of playoff basketball will serve as an important stepping stone in their planned path back to competitiveness.
The offseason now begins in earnest and is likely to be one of consolidation. The Rockets are on an upward trajectory, like any functioning rocket should be, and they have both the third-youngest roster of any team in this year’s playoffs to go with a far greater
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