Bleacher Report Tabs Rockets as Contenders Despite Fred VanVleet’s Injury

The Houston Rockets jumped off the porch in 2024-25, catching everyone off guard. No one expected a 41-41 team to finish second in the Western Conference just one year later, without making any major roster upgrades. 

But that's exactly what Houston did between 2023-24 and 2024-25, even posting the league's fourth-best record overall at 52-30. 

Even without having an All-NBA fulcrum, which is typically what it takes. At least to make a considerable title run, which Houston failed to do, as they were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Golden State Warriors, who boast one of the greatest players ever in Stephen Curry. 

Houston's brass mirrored that formula in the summer, adding Kevin Durant, easily one of the greatest scorers to ever lace up his sneakers. This was a sign that the Rockets were in win-now mode and wanted to go all-in.

They also added Dorian Finney-Smith and Clint Capela, and locked up Fred VanVleet, Steven Adams, and Jabari Smith Jr.  The Rockets were officially ready for take-off, seeking to dethrone the Oklahoma City Thunder -- the world champions, who were miraculously able to keep all of their pieces intact.

Then came the bad news.

Fred VanVleet, the team's unquestioned leader, tore his ACL at a team minicamp in the Bahamas --- an injury that will surely sideline him for the entirety of the season.

The Rockets are left scrambling to figure out how to replace him, with little money to do so and no open roster spots. They'll likely have to patch up VanVleet's responsibilities and divy up the ballhandling and playmaking between Amen Thompson, Reed Sheppard, Kevin Durant, and Alperen Sengun. 

But in spite of that, Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes still views the Rockets as title contenders.

"New faces aside, the Rockets' core youth is primed to improve. Amen Thompson is in line for stardom if he can iron out his jumper. Reed Sheppard barely played last year but remains a high-ceiling prospect who should get more reps in his second season.

Both will take on much larger roles in the wake of Fred VanVleet's torn ACL, and this is a bet they'll be ready.

Jabari Smith Jr., one of the most promising three-and-D bigs in the league, signed a bargain five-year, $122 million deal.

Had Houston done nothing, it would have been a good bet to secure home-court advantage in a first-round playoff series. With all the upgrades and in-house growth potential, the Rockets announced themselves as contenders."

Banking on organic growth and development of the Rockets' young guns is a safe bet. Many of them are still fairly raw, especially Thompson.

Sheppard can only improve, as he didn't show much of anything as a rookie. He'll arguably have a bigger hand in how Houston fares this season, because he's going to garner a good bit of minutes. 

In fact, he may even be thrown into the starting lineup. 

If he's ready, which the writer assumes. Houston's advantage will still be their wing depth and their trio of Durant, Sengun, and Thompson.

For those reasons, it's a safe bet to pencil them in as a playoff team. Whether they repeat as a top-three seed will depend heavily on Sheppard's ability to take a major leap.