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The Houston Rockets have some work to do, from a roster standpoint. This couldn’t have been made more obvious following Houston’s disappointing first-round postseason series against the Los Angeles Lakers, who were playing without their best player in Luka Doncic, while their second-best player in Austin Reaves was limited to just two games. The Rockets […]
DISCLOSURE NOTICE: Reed Sheppard is the author’s adopted nephew.* Rockets fans got to see a lot more of Reed Sheppard this season. Which is nice for a player picked third in the NBA draft. Some people, perhaps even the coach of the Houston Rockets, might view Reed Sheppard’s sophomore NBA season as a disappointment. I […]
Yes, we know that Fred VanVleet didn’t play for the Houston Rockets this season. But given that GM Rafael Stone stayed quiet at the NBA Trade Deadline and cited VanVleet’s absence for why team management wasn’t making any moves to improve, which became a huge part of this season’s narrative, we wanted to include FVV […]
Houston Rockets phenom Amen Thompson is eligible for a contract extension this offseason for up to five years at $251 million. That’s the most the Rockets can offer, but there’s reason to believe Houston would not want to give him that much money, given how much they have to spend elsewhere. Houston Chronicle reporter Varun […]
Ime Udoka has a type. Skill? What’s that? Shooting? In basketball? Why? Hustle? Welcome to the team. Jokes aside, an organizational emphasis on effort is not an inherent disadvantage. Last offseason, the Rockets overindexed on size and defense. I personally think it’s unfair to retcon a Dorian Finney-Smith signing that would have made sense if […]
As it is by now no secret, I enjoy watching Steven Adams play (also, his dog is cute) but that will not spare him from this article. With his production and injury, Adams, in retrospect, turned out to be one of the most important players for the Rockets this season, but unfortunately, on January 18, […]
Headed into this past regular season, the Rockets offered Tari Eason a four-year, $100 million extension with protections tied to injuries given Eason’s already extensive injury history. Eason kindly rejected that offer and chose to bet on himself. Now that the dust has settled on the 2025-2026 season, we can begin to answer the question […]
It wasn’t supposed to be this way, man. Dorian Finney-Smith was supposed to be a difference maker for the Houston Rockets. An impact player, if you will. The Rockets’ brain trust even tabbed Finney-Smith as Dillon Brooks’ replacement. (And we know how valuable he became and how important he was for this Rockets ball club). […]
Jae’Sean Tate is the longest-tenured player on the Houston Rockets, as he’s been on several iterations of the team. Tate burst on the scene as an undrafted rookie, averaging 11.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists in his debut NBA season. He followed that up with an even stronger sophomore campaign, averaging 11.8 points, 5.4 […]
The Houston Rockets are going to have to make some room inside Toyota Center for the Houston Comets, who will be returning to the Lone Star State for the 2027 WNBA season. The Comets will be returning to the league after Tillman Fertitta agreed to a deal to purchase the Connecticut Sun, who were previously […]
The story of Clint Capela returning to the Rockets begins, as most tragic stories do, with Steven Adams. Steven Adams over the past four regular seasons has played in 138 of 328 possible games. His last fully healthy season was 2022-23 with the Memphis Grizzlies. While Adams has been undeniably effective in the ways he’s […]
For the first time in five years, the Houston Rockets had no direct stakes in the NBA Draft Lottery. Sure, indirectly, they’re affected by the Brooklyn Nets’ pick slipping to sixth. Rockets fans will be rooting against the Nets throughout 2026-27. Even if the league flattens the draft odds, a bleaker future for the Nets […]
NBA fans often want their general managers to make decisions that, if they were in the same shoes, they may not make themselves. It’s human nature. If you’d been there, he wouldn’t have gotten away with it. You’d have done the brave thing. If I were in charge, we wouldn’t be in this mess. Until […]
Jeff Green is the ultimate bench guy. The 39-year-old Uncle Jeff shows the young players how to operate as a professional, how to be ready night-in and night-out, how navigate the pitfalls of a life partially on the road, and basic emotional support to an overall young team. It’s been valuable. But on the court, […]
I think many of us were intrigued when the Houston Rockets re-signed Aaron Holiday this past offseason to a one-year, $3.08 million deal to return to the team as a backup point guard. Many expected Holiday to move on to somewhere with more playing time than with the Rockets, especially since Reed Sheppard was viewed […]
The Houston Rockets are sitting at home for the second round of the playoffs trying to make sure they don’t suffer the same fate next season. This could lead to another aggressive offseason where the team scours the trade market. One player that could be on the Rockets’ radar is Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell. […]
Josh Okogie’s 2025-26 season was like cowbell: We wanted more. Seriously. What happened here? Okogie was in the midst of the best season of his career. Sure, he shot an unsustainable 95.0% from deep over the first month of the season (note: statistic exaggerated for comedic effect). Yes, he was inevitably going to cool off, […]
The Rockets’ post-mortem press conference provided some clarity about the team’s direction. The operative word there is “some”. From what we can gather, Rafael Stone thinks Reed Sheppard is Steve Nash, and Ime Udoka thinks he’s Steve Kerr. We could settle on Mark Price or Mahmoud Abdul-Raof It seems like the intention is to “run […]
Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun is continuing to catch strays during the offseason. The Turkish All-Star just finished his fifth NBA season and the second in a row where the Rockets could not get out of the first round in the playoffs. The Athletic conducted a league-wide survey asking players various questions about their peers. […]
I think many Rockets fans were happy when the Rockets decided to convert JD Davison’s two-way contract to a regular NBA contract. As much as I enjoy Aaron Holiday and his minutes, it was time for Davison to get a standard NBA contract. Davison saw relatively limited action during his first season with Houston. He […]
The Houston Rockets were a relatively top-heavy ball club in 2025-26. Their only consistent performer was Kevin Durant, followed by Amen Thompson, although Thompson’s contributions extend far beyond the stat sheet. Alperen Sengun, Jabari Smith Jr., Reed Sheppard and Tari Eason were all major contributors. However, they weren’t exactly consistent contributors, as each of them […]
The Rockets are not going to fire their GM or their Head Coach. Once you allow the emotion of the immensely disappointing end to the Rockets season subside, (and please take all the time you need) then you understand why they aren’t doing it, even if you think they should fire Rafael Stone and Ime […]
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NFL. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Rockets fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys. This past week’s question asked Rockets fans about Kevin Durant. Following a tumultuous season in which KD played […]
Occam’s razor is attributed to a 14th-century friar named William of Ockham. He doesn’t seem to be widely remembered for much else. The simplest explanation is: his idea that the explanation with the fewest elements is probably the most logical one was by far his best work. The Houston Rockets had a disappointing 2025-26 season. […]
If reports are to be believed, the Houston Rockets have already made a decision on one of the biggest questions of the offseason. According to The Athletic’s Kelly Iko, the Rockets have “no plans” to move on from either Ime Udoka or Rafael Stone. The report says: “At this juncture, there are no plans to […]