NBA 2022-23 season preview on Houston Rockets. Data, results from the previous season, a look at their roster and their future free agents, the objectives of the course, the player to watch and a forecast about the franchise.
Houston Rockets
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- Movements in the market: departures of Christian Wood and John Wall, arrivals of Boban Marjanovic, Trey Burke and Marquesse Chris.
- Backcourt: Jalen Green, Kevin Porter Jr., Trey Burke, Eric Gordon, David Nwaba, Josh Christopher, Sterling Brown, Tyty Washington, Daishen Nix, Garrison Matthews (no garantizado) y Trevor Hudgins (two-way).
- Frontcourt: Jabari Smith Jr., Alperen Sengün, Jae’Sean Tate, Boban Marjanovic, Usman Garuba, Marquesse Chris, Bruno Fernando, Tari Eason and Kenyon Martin Jr. (not guaranteed).
This is how they face the season
2021-22 was Houston’s first full rebuilding season. In fact, it was this summer that they finally got rid of all the big veteran contracts that have no place on the team. Among the heavyweight players, only Eric Gordon remains since the detonation began in January 2021, whom the franchise likes to keep for what he represents behind the scenes and for his unwavering professionalism on the track. Which does not eliminate the option that he will be transferred at any time in exchange for pieces to build in the future. What’s more, of the teams under reconstruction, the Rockets are the ones with the fewest picks in the draft between now and 2025 with 8. So it is expected that they will want to increase that number as the market closes.
At a sports level, last season served only to glimpse which young people have options to form the hard core of the team in the medium term and let them off steam. And this season we can expect a practically identical script adding the presence of Jabari Smith Jr., called to be the co-star of Jalen Green. For now, Green himself, Alperen Sengün and Josh Cristopher have secured their status as promises and their almost unbreakable continuity in the summer of 2023 – the first frontier of their contract rookie—. For his part, Usman Garuba is surrounded by doubts after a too intermittent first year.
The Rockets were the fifth worst offense in the league, where everything good happened through individual runs; and the worst defense. At times the basketball they practiced became painful to look at, which together with the 15 straight losses they accumulated at the beginning of the course even made Stephen Silas’ position wobble. However, in this offseason The Rockets have given their coach free rein to form a coaching staff to suit them. Obviously focused on player development.
In this regard, and assuming that Jalen Green is the undisputed head of the project, it will be interesting to see the projection of the young people who aim to expand their role compared to the previous year. The clearest is Alperen Sengün, whom the majority of journalists related to the team’s environment place as the starter. He barely got over 20 minutes a game in his rookie season, far short of the talent on display. His good Eurobasket should consecrate him as a powerful promise to approach thirty minutes per night and give him the interior after Wood’s departure.
The second unknown is, one more year, Kevin Porter Jr. In 21-22 the base has shown to have left behind his reticent extra-sports problems and, on paper, has convinced the franchise to be his base in the short and medium term . Both parties have expressed the desire to sign an extension of their contract rookie before the start of training camp. However, the latest leaks point to the appearance of certain doubts on the part of the management. The figures that are handled are close to 80 million for four years. The signing would not compromise the future of the Rockets much, so the most normal thing is that they end up sealing it, even if they later transfer it before finalizing it. The opportunity cost is low if he evolves as an outside support scorer for Jalen Green with some organizational skills.
Less serious in the grand scheme of things, Jae’Sean Tate’s three-year renewal indicates that they already see him as a reliable complement in the roster. Josh Cristopher should aim to settle down as the second-unit leader and work on his pick and shooting percentages. Usman Garuba, despite facing his second year, may be facing the last opportunity to show that he is a full-fledged NBA player. Boban Marjanovic will finally stay as a veteran mentor, although he will probably have little prominence on the track. What’s more, the inside rotation is likely to be reduced by Stephen Silas’ penchant for smaller quintets with the possibility of Jabari Smith filling the five. And speaking of Auburn’s ex…
the player to watch
From the start, the main star of the team will continue to be Jalen Green. More if possible after finishing the season on much more positive notes than at the beginning and with the promise of continuing to polish the rough edges that made him tend to chaos too much even to be a rookie. But the one who’s really going to set the pace for the team’s rebuild, and we’re here just to see how close they are to getting out of the hole, is Jabari Smith. For many months the interior was projected as number one. In fact, he was the favorite to occupy the top until a few hours before the big date. The boy came to Houston on the rebound after the franchise had already made up its mind to choose Paolo Banchero. Although this does not imply that they have necessarily lost out in the change of plans in Orlando.
As an offensive weapon, Jabari is an unlimited shooter, being able to execute the throw in almost any situation with absurd percentages to lift 208 centimeters off the ground. In his only year in the NCAA he averaged 2.3 three-pointers made per game with 42% shooting. But he also adds resources to throw the ball to the ground and take advantage of the space generated by the outside threat of him getting up from mid-distance or finishing near the hoop. The flashes of his technical range, with special attention to the shot after bounce, earned him some – and surely exaggerated – comparisons with Kevin Durant. He is also capable of running the court with and without the ball, although he must grow in static actions in which he does not start with the ball.
If Jabari ends up fulfilling – or insinuating – the promises of his physical and technical mold, the Houston project would go up a couple of steps at once. What will ensure you have carte blanche to dare everything from the first day. Building around a really dominant interior is always a symbol of guarantee for the defensive impact to which they are usually subject. Unless your name is Nikola Jokic, whose development in that area has been years in the making. And it’s right on defense where the cotton test will be for Smith Jr., who may struggle to survive the comparisons that are likely to be thrown with Evan Mobley fresh in the memory. Little better news could Houston get if at the end of its year rookie has managed to overcome them.
The prognosis
Elio Martínez, director of nbamaniacs, leaves a personal and subjective forecast on what he thinks each franchise will do during the 2022-23 season.
To say that this team can be very interesting to watch and one of the worst in the entire competition is just as good as a garden tomato with a splash of oil. The Rockets aim to be in the negative Top-5 —probably among the last three— due to their obvious lack of roster and experience, but with Jalen Green, Kevin Porter Jr., Jabari Smith Jr. and Alperen Şengün they can have fun nights and the viewer. Occasional, yes. They’ll probably lose a bunch of games early in the season and then straighten the ship out a bit. Forecast: 20 wins, 28th regular season team.
(Cover photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
