Rockets’ Redemption Arc: With Doubts Lingering, Houston Faces a Crucial Opportunity to Prove Their Worth, Shedding the Label of Underachievers and Igniting a New Era of Credibility

It takes a certain level of experience and consistency for a playoff team to gain general respect from the rest of the NBA. A ‘young’ team in its first playoff run isn’t expected to do much other than go out there and compete, and then build on that for the future, so there isn’t an immense amount of pressure.

The Houston Rockets could be that team to break the cycle, though. In a league full of powerhouse Western Conference teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder, Los Angeles Lakers, and Denver Nuggets, the Rockets are right up there with the best. Houston currently holds a 44-25 record, riding a seven-game winning streak after last night’s 144-137 highlight win over the Philadelphia 76ers.

Tied for the second seed in the West, Houston has exceeded almost all expectations from just a season ago. Last year, there were flashes of what the Rockets could become under head coach Ime Udoka. They went 41-41, and although the offense wasn’t that prominent, the defensive philosophy shined most nights.

This year, Houston boasts the fourth-best defensive rating in the NBA (109.6) to go alongside the 12th-best offensive rating (114.2). The Rockets have been taking step after step since the James Harden era ended in early 2021, stacking up homegrown talent to draft a viable rotation with the help of some solid veterans such as Fred VanVleet, Dillon Brooks, and Steven Adams.

Ultimately, though, the team is highlighted by the young core of Alperen Sengun, Jalen Green, Amen Thompson, and a few others. The Rockets are still facing doubters as the regular season winds down, particularly because of their rough stretch of games in February. After an 11-4 January, Houston took a serious downturn, losing six in a row from Jan. 30 to Feb. 8. The team went 5-7 that month.

Now, the Rockets are back on track with a 7-3 March record. This is the perfect time to get hot, considering there are just about three other teams heavily gunning for that No. 2 seed. Not only does it mean home-court advantage in the first two rounds of the playoffs, but it avoids seeing the juggernaut Thunder before the Western Conference Finals.

There isn’t too much pressure on the Rockets to go far this season, as it’ll be the first time the majority of the roster sees the postseason. However, in a conference full of elite talent, Houston standing out above the rest leaves a mark. Even as a top seed in the West, the Rockets should embrace the doubt and the ‘underdog’ mindset.