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How do title contending NBA teams build their rosters? This year’s NBA Finals is, as they say, a study in contrasts. The San Antonio Spurs are largely organic, with most of their key players selected in the NBA draft by the Spurs, or are the sort of players that any team can acquire to play […]
Houston Rockets forward Tari Eason is a free agent for the first time in his career. The former first-round pick out of LSU has grown in each of his four seasons with the Rockets. In the 2025-26 campaign, Eason averaged 10.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game for the Rockets, making 60 appearances (34 starts) […]
In recent years, I’ve come to wonder whether I’m on the autism spectrum. Then again, I kind of think everyone’s on the spectrum now. That could be selection bias – I’m mildly autistic, so I gravitate to mildly autistic people. It could be a reflection of bastardization of diagnostic and clinical language. It could also […]
The Houston Rockets are being floated as a team to watch in the blockbuster trade market this offseason. Last summer, the Rockets traded for Kevin Durant from the Phoenix Suns, acquiring him for Dillon Brooks, Jalen Green, and the number 10 overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft, which was used to select Khaman Maluach […]
Well, the new NBA balls have finally dropped, lottery balls for the 2027 draft, that is. The 2025-26 season did indeed prove to be the shameless display of deliberate losing for the sake of improving draft lottery odds that has drawn the harshest response yet to tanking. Today the NBABOG or National Basketball Association Board […]
The Houston Rockets are evaluating their future when it comes to veteran shooting guard Josh Okogie. Okogie, 27, signed with the Rockets on a one-year minimum deal in the offseason and turned out to be a bargain for the team. He even started two playoff games for the Rockets in their series against the Los […]
The Houston Rockets could look a little different next season, and that isn’t just the players on the roster. On social media this week, the Rockets have teased a new look for their jerseys coming soon. The order at “Rudy T’s” is expediting a “Classic with a Dream Shake,” which is an homage to Hakeem […]
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NBA. 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. The Houston Rockets are used to this. Pretty much every name that might be available on […]
“The Rockets are realistic championship contenders after this trade – and that’s the whole reason the deal happened.” – Tim McMahon “This elevates them to championship contention… Wouldn’t surprise me at all to see them in the Western Conference Finals… The Houston Rockets are instant title contenders.” – Stephen A. Smith “When you put Kevin […]
The Houston Rockets enter the NBA offseason with a definite desire for improvement because of the general belief that the previous season was disappointing. Despite having the highest expectations heading into the season, the Rockets were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs for the second year in a row, and while Houston could […]
The Houston Rockets’ offseason plans haven’t been made clear. The Rockets could go in a number of directions, as they’ve got glaring roster needs. Last season’s team lacked playmaking guards, not to mention the Rockets’ lack of outside shooters. The Rockets lost the math game essentially every night. And they could use more shot makers […]
The Houston Rockets have an identity. They may not have much else. You may not like that identity. You still can’t deny its existence. When rival fans think of the Rockets, they have a clear image in their minds. They’re scrappy. The Rockets are the best rebounding team in basketball. They’re among the best defensive […]
Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant is celebrating another successful season in the NBA with his 12th All-NBA honor of his career. With his 12th All-NBA appearance, Durant joins an elite club of basketball greats, which includes: Here’s a list of the All-NBA teams that the voters chose: First: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokic, Victor Wembanyama, Luka […]
Alperen Sengun had an opportunity to prove that his 2024-2025 All-Star campaign wasn’t a fluke, and that Raphael Stone and Ime Udoka were right to hand him the keys to the franchise when they traded away Jalen Green and brought in a 37-year-old Kevin Durant. The result? I guess you could say he did that? […]
The Houston Rockets have a major offseason ahead. Amen Thompson and Tari Eason are both up for contract extensions, and reports have come out that Fred VanVleet may get his contract restructured, and this is not counting them having Fred VanVleet and Steven Adams back next year. Fred and Adams will obviously both be returning […]
The Houston Rockets have been stress-testing the concept of the point guard for a long time. Astute Dream Shakers will know that I’ve taken this angle before. Let’s speed run it. Mike D’Antoni moved James Harden from the two to the one. Harden left, and Kevin Porter Jr. larked as a point guard for a […]
Hello Shakers, I’ve put this here to so people can discuss the Conference Finals games without having to hunt down which post people are chatting on. So far it’s been a lot of fun. Two games, three overtimes. (And one less interesting game.) Game one of OKC vs San Antonio also saw a comeback, and […]
Some problems have multiple solutions. Other problems have no solution, and that’s why competing hypothetical solutions seem viable to different people. It’s hard to say which of those two types of problems the Houston Rockets have right now. The two 2025-26 NBA Western Conference Finalists are lightyears ahead of Houston. Some fans are waving the […]
In sports, there are three types of players. Those who are great regular season players, who take their greatness to a whole other level in the playoffs. Then there are great regular season players who flame out in the postseason. Lastly, there are the players who are average to good regular season players, who step […]
The next Steph Curry. The next Steve Nash. The next Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf…the next Brent Price. The first Reed Sheppard – existentially speaking. He is not a Kevin O’Connor comparison – He is a solitary unit. But what is he? It seems like Rafael Stone has some lofty expectations. Rumors suggest that he sees Sheppard as […]
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 […]