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In

^{Kevin Durant (PF)
Clint Capela (C)
Dorian Finney-Smith (PF)
Josh Okogie (SG)}

Rookies

–

Out

^{Dillon Brooks (SF)
Jalen Green (SG)
Cam Whitmore (SF)
Jock Landale (C)
David Roddy (SG)}

Depth Chart

PG – Amen Thompson – VanVleet is injured
SG – Kevin Durant
SF – Jabari Smith Jr.
F – Alperen Sengun
C – Steven Adams
6th Man – Josh Okogie (might start)
Rotation players – Aaron Holiday / Reed Sheppard / Jae’Sean Tate / Dorian Finney-Smith / Tari Eason / Clint Capela

^{Houston Rockets Profile}

Team Ceiling

NBA Champions – After the addition of Kevin Durant and finally getting rid of Jalen Grenn – while also saying goodbye to Dillon Brooks – the Houston Rockets are clear contenders for the NBA title this year. They have everything they need, and Durant also got what he wanted: not needing to do anything for his team. He can be even considered a second star in this team, right behind Sengun.

Team Floor

2nd Round – Unfortunately, VanVleet got injured before the start of the season. This and the fact that they don’t have a trustworthy PG can affect their Playoffs expectations. If they can’t find an alternative during the season, they can’t trust Thompson to be their starting PG.

X-Factor

Jabari Smith Jr. – We already know how good some of these players are. Durant, Sengun and even Thompson are already top-tier in these Rockets. But Jabari Smith needs to be another of these key pieces. He will get a lot of play minutes and he needs to provide as a lot of balls will get to him. When Durant and Sengun are guarded, he needs to be ready to receive and get to the basket or shoot it. He’s one of the keys to the possibility of a new championship for the Rockets after 31 years.

Bust

Reed Sheppard – While offensively he’s a threat, the Houston Rockets don’t need that this season. They have plenty of offensive guys, and while he could be a great player off the bench, his defensive issues are what worries the most to the team.

Dark Horse

A new PG or Reed Sheppard – There are already talks involving the Rockets and a new PG. Kris Dunn and Derrick White have already been mentioned, but this is far from reality yet. Jrue Holiday is another option. Whoever it is, or even Reed Sheppard, he’s the key that will allow the Rockets to step up this season and don’t waste yet another Kevin Durant’s year.

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What could have been an epic year for the city of Houston has turned out to be a possible disaster. Even without VanVleet, they have a great team, but will it be enough? The West is very competitive and a mid team won’t do it – at least not this year.

If they are able to solve the puzzle of the PG during the season, we can’t discard them as contenders. But for the time being, this team might not have as high ceiling as it could have with Fred VanVleet.

Good thing is that they get to develop their young players even more. Durant still has one player option for next years so they could give it another try, with almost the same team plus one year of experience.