This season, the Rockets have continued to make progress and are currently firmly ranked among the top three in the Western Conference. Unless there are serious injuries or other unexpected events, it should not be a big problem for the Rockets to return to the playoff stage. However, the Rockets' shortcomings are also obvious, which is the lack of a true first-line superstar. Once the game enters the decisive moments, the Rockets can only rely on defense to win. If the opponent has an excellent shooting performance, the Rockets find it difficult to respond offensively. As a result, they have been overwhelmed or reversed at critical moments several times.
From the current situation, the Rockets are considered the top disruptor in the league. Noted journalist Tim Bontemps lists three advantages of Houston, including the fact that the Rockets have many young players with significant potential and room for growth; even if they cannot retain all these young players, packaging some of them with draft picks to trade away can still bring substantial gains to the Rockets; head coach Ime Udoka is highly skilled, and since he joined the Rockets, he has brought about many positive changes to the team and has received a lot of praise and acclaim within the circle of superstars. It can be said that for Rockets general manager Rafael Stone, he needs to make some zero-for-all operations next, which may change the landscape of the league and make the Rockets a championship contender again.
Since drafting Reed Sheppard, several young players have been collectively referred to as the "seven sons" among the Rockets fan base. However, their performances and development speeds seem to have some differences. Apart from Alperen Sengun, who now possesses All-Star level abilities, the other players still fall short in terms of quality. For example, Jalen Green, as the core of the Rockets' perimeter, often scores high points, but his stability is too poor. If the Rockets aim to compete for the championship, Jalen Green must become more stable and consistently score over 20 points per game efficiently, otherwise, he will have to switch to playing sixth man or face the risk of being traded.
Other young players on the Rockets also face their own problems. For instance, Jabari Smith, Tari Eason, and Amen Thompson are all considered excellent pieces, and each of them has the potential to become the third-best player on the team. However, it seems quite challenging for them to take another step forward. Two other young players, Cam Whitmore and Reed Sheppard, have undeniable talent. Many fans believe that if Cam Whitmore and Jalen Green switched positions, Cam Whitmore would perform even better. However, Cam Whitmore's personality and psychological aspects are like a ticking time bomb. Reed Sheppard, the third overall pick, has performed relatively average since joining the league and appears to need to go to the Development League first to try to become a powerhouse in the Vipers lineup.
As for Ime Udoka, although many picky Rockets fans still nitpick him, he is undoubtedly the biggest contributor to the team's rise. He reshaped the team's locker room culture, instilled a strong defensive mentality, and injected a tough and bloody gene. It remains to be seen whether, if the Rockets' lineup becomes more luxurious, Ime Udoka and his coaching staff can also make the offensive end more organized.