Rockets season preview team: So what if Van Jordan falls? Houston is aimed at the championship without retreat

Review of the 24-25 season last season, the Rockets' reconstruction was finally completed. The team scored a record of 52 wins and 30 losses, and held its first title as the second in the West to support the playoffs. This is their return to the playoffs after 5 years. However, in the playoffs, the Rockets still paid tuition for their young age and were unfortunately eliminated after seven games in the first round with the Warriors.

Although it stopped in the first round, the Rockets last season still made Rockets fans happy. They won 11 more games than the 23-24 season, and their ranking jumped directly from 11th to 2nd. The first round of the "Black Seven" was a shame for the Rockets, but this round of the series is also a valuable experience for the young Rockets on their growth path.

The main operations during the offseason are

7-party transactions are introduced to Durant and Capela. In June this year, the Rockets finalized a big deal and got Durant from the Suns. After that, the Rockets and Suns contacted other teams and finally negotiated a seven-team deal. In this deal, the Rockets sent Jaylen Green, Dillon, No. 10 pick Maluarch and a second round pick to the Suns, David Roddy, a second round pick and $853,000 in cash to the Hawks, No. 59 pick Jamaica Mashak to the Warriors, two second round picks to the Nets, Durant from the Suns, and Capela from the Hawks.

introduced Durant, the Rockets undoubtedly completed a huge upgrade, and they did it without shaking their defensive foundations. The main price they paid was Jaylen Green, Dillon and No. 10 pick Malu Archie. If there were a key gentleman like Durant in the playoffs last season, the results of the series might be different, and now the Rockets have such a player. After the free market opened, Capela and the Rockets reached an agreement, and then he renewed the Hawks for 3 years with 21.1 million, and then returned to the Rockets as part of the 7-party big deal. Houston is Capela's place of fame. After five years, he has returned to this place, and he will serve as one of the main substitutes in the interior in the new season.

renew Adams. In June this year, the Rockets and Adams renewed their contract, with a contract of 39 million for three years. Adams is still very valuable to the current Rockets. He can play a substitute for Shin Kyung, and the two can also play at the same time, giving the Rockets a height advantage in the interior. Uduka used a double tower lineup last season. Although the data of last season was not outstanding, Adams' height, strength, experience, defense, and rebounds can all provide great help to the team. It is worth it to give such a contract.

24-25 season, Adams played 57 regular season games, averaging 3.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, 0.5 blocks per game, and shooting percentage of 54.5%; he played 7 games in the playoffs, averaging 5.7 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.1 blocks per game, and shooting percentage of 60%.

Multiple-year contract renews Udu Card in advance. In June, the Rockets also completed an early contract renewal with Uduka, which reflects their trust and confidence in the latter. Uduka's performance also gives them a reason. In the past two seasons, he has led the rebuilding Rockets to become a strong team in the league, with 41 wins and 41 losses in the 23-24 season, 11th in the West, and 52 wins and 30 losses last season and 2nd in the West.

Cut off Langdale. Langdale was signed by the Rockets in 2023 with a four-year and 32 million contract. When the two parties signed the contract, only 8 million in the first year was guaranteed. After the cooperation of the first year ended, his 8 million in the second year was also guaranteed. However, as the team later traded to Adams, it was no longer necessary to retain Langdale.

Landale's performance also gave the Rockets no reason to retain him. In the 2024-25 season, Langdale played 42 regular season games for the Rockets, averaging 11.9 minutes per game, scoring 4.8 points and 3.3 rebounds; in the playoffs, he played 1 game, played 5 minutes, and scored 2 points on 1 of 2 shots.

5 years, 122 million yuan will be renewed early. Jabary Smith was the 2022 Tanhua Show. He performed well last season, playing in 57 regular season games, averaging 12.2 points, 7 rebounds and 1.1 assists per 30.2 minutes per game, shooting 43.8% and 35.4% of three-pointers; he made 7 appearances in the playoffs, averaged 7.4 points and 3.9 rebounds per game, shooting 50% and 45.5% of three-pointers. After the season, the two sides renewed their contract in advance and reached a five-year, 122 million yuan contract. After completing this early contract renewal, the Rockets established the starting power forward for many years to come.

Tate contract renewal with one year's minimum salary. Tate was already the small forward with the least playing time per game in the team last season, with smaller roles than Dillon, Amen and Whitmore. He played 52 regular season games, averaged 11.3 minutes per game, scored 3.6 points and 2.3 rebounds, and failed to play in the playoffs. However, he and the Rockets are familiar enough. The two sides have worked together for 5 seasons, so this summer, the Rockets chose to continue to retain him and use a basic salary to retain a player who is very familiar with the team. The Rockets' operation is understandable.

In the small forward position, the Rockets left Dillon and Whitmore this offseason, Durant and Finney Smith, two in and two out, but with Van Vreet being injured, Amen may go to the back to put out the fire, and Tate may take on a more important role in the new season.

50 million new contract for Van Vritt in two years. After two years of cooperation, the Rockets and Van Vreet have obviously developed a good relationship, and the two sides have completed the contract renewal very friendly this summer. The Rockets rejected Van Jordan's team option of $44.9 million in the last year, and then the two sides signed a new contract of $50 million in two years, with the second season being the player option.

Van Vreet is at least a reliable starting point guard. Last season, he played in 60 regular season games, averaging 35.2 minutes per game, scoring 14.1 points, 3.7 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 1.6 breaks and 0.4 caps, with three shooting percentages of 37.8%, 34.5% and 81.6% respectively.. Moreover, he is 31 years old this year and has two years of golden age. After completing the contract renewal, the Rockets can use him for at least 25 million yuan for a year, which is a good price. Moreover, judging from the situation this summer, the two sides are likely to maintain good cooperation after the end of the new season.

In September this year, Van Vreet suffered a serious injury of torn anterior cruciate ligament and may be reimbursed for the season. This made this two-year contract worth 50 million in an instant. But we cannot use this injury in September to deny the Rockets' contract renewal in June. Going back to the time when the two sides renewed the contract in June, the Rockets' contract renewal is of great value, without a doubt.

4, 52.71 million were introduced to Finney Smith. In the Durant trade, the Rockets lost forward player Dillon, but they soon introduced high-quality 3D like Finney Smith in the free market. Smith played 43 regular season games for the Lakers last season, averaging 28.8 minutes per game, scoring 7.9 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists, with a three-point shooting percentage of 44.1%. He played in 5 games in the playoffs, and averaged 6.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game, with a three-point shooting percentage of 36.8%.

According to reports, Finney Smith's contract was only protected in the first two years, not guaranteed in the next two years, and there is a player option in the fourth year. This makes the Rockets' signing risk lower.

Renew Aaron Holiday with a one-year minimum salary. Holiday was one of the team's substitute point guards last season, playing 62 games, averaging 12.8 minutes per game, scoring 5.5 points, 1.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists, shooting percentage of 43.7% and three-point shooting percentage of 39.8%.

The Rockets chose to continue to retain Holiday this summer, but in terms of specific operations, the team first rejected Holiday's team option of 4.9 million next season, and then the two sides renewed their contract for a year with a minimum salary of 3.08 million yuan a year.

One year minimum salary renewal Jeff Green. In addition to Tate and Holiday, the Rockets continued to retain Jeff Green this summer, and they also used the basic salary. In the 24-25 season, Green played 32 games, averaging 12.4 minutes per game, scoring 5.4 points and 1.8 rebounds, shooting percentage of 50.4%, and three-pointers of 36.7%.

The two Rockets' power forward position last season were Jabbarry Smith and Ethan. Jeff Green didn't have many roles. At the age of 38, he has entered the end of his career. Such a result is also expected. However, his experience is still a wealth for the Rockets, and he may also become the Rockets' surprise one night.

Signed Okogi with a minimum salary of one year. The Rockets basically completed the lineup reshaping in early July. By late July, they spent the last part of their cap space on the back line to supplement Okogie. Okogie is characterized by defense, and he can provide some help in the new season. The disadvantages are also obvious. Without three-pointers, the three-point shooting percentage last season was 34.8%, which was already a career high.

Current lineup

defenders: Van Vreet (injured), Amen Thompson, Shepard, Aaron Holiday, Okogie, Kevin Harris (two-way), JD Davidson (two-way)

Forwards: Durant, Ethan, Jabary Smith, Finney Smith, Jeff Green, Tate, Isaiah Crawford (two-way)

Inside: Shinkyung, Adams, Capela

New season preview

Van Vreet is seriously injured, who will fill the vacancy?

won the second place in the Western Conference last season and introduced Durant this summer, the Rockets have appeared in the discussion of championship competition. The team does have such strength, with superstars and lineup thickness. But the season has not started yet, a basin of cold water has been poured down, and the team's starting point guard Van Vrett tore the ACL, which may be reimbursed for the season. This was undoubtedly a heavy blow for the Rockets. After Van Vritte fell, the team's back line was really not enough. At present, the most discussed outside world is that Van Vritte's replacements are Amen and Shepard, but no matter who plays the starting point guard, their prospects are not particularly good.

However, Van Jordan's fall does not mean that the Rockets withdraw from the championship ranks. They still have strong strength and external resources to overcome difficulties. If the direction is correct and the team is united, they will still be the Western Conference strongman in the new season.

There are two reasons for saying this. First, modern basketball has no concept of position, and all five players on the court can dribble, pass, break through, and shoot. Without the VanVleet Rockets, no one can organize it? Can't the striker be organized? See how good James is. Can't the center be organized? Jokic slapped in the face. There are two suitable candidates in the Rockets who can take on organizational tasks, Durant and Shin Kyung. Durant deserves the name of "Death". He was a super scorer at his peak, but his organization is not weak. He averaged 5.5 assists per game in the 13-14 MVP season, averaged 5.9 assists per game in the Warriors in the 18-19 season, and averaged 6.4 assists per game in the 21-22 season. After the start of the new season, KD can fully undertake more organizational tasks, and he is fully capable of doing it. There is a reason why Shin Kyung was previously called "Jokic Jordan"; he does have the potential to become an organizational center. In the past two years, he has gradually realized this organizational potential, averaging 5.1 assists per game in the 23-24 season, averaging 4.9 assists per game last season, and averaging 5.3 assists per game in the playoffs. In this summer's European Championship, Shin Kyung shined, averaging 21.6 points, 10.1 rebounds and 6.6 assists per game, leading the Turkish men's basketball team to the finals. Seeing these things, we have reason to believe that Shin Kyung is competent in the role of the center and can give him more balls to him in the new season.

Second, the Rockets of the Uduka era are characterized by defense. Last season, the team's defensive efficiency was 110.3 (losed points in a hundred rounds), and ranked 5th in the league. Van Vreet's injury will not shake the team's defensive foundation. For the current Rockets, it is difficult to find a defender to completely replace Van Vreet's role on the offensive end, but it is much less difficult to find a defender to replace Van Jordan's role on the defensive end. The Rockets can still find defenders in the team, and the team's defensive quality will not decline..

& ranking forecast

Van Vreett's injury did make the Rockets' outbreak unfavorable, but this difficulty can be overcome. Moreover, the Rockets still have Durant, a super giant, and Shen Jing, a young center who is entering its peak period. They also have a luxurious role lineup in the frontcourt and are not unavailable in the backcourt. Therefore, the author predicts that the Rockets' record in the new season will further improve, with about 55 wins, ranking in the top three in the West.