Rockets' Biggest Test Yet to Come

It's been a week since the Houston Rockets saw their season come to an end at the hands of the Golden State Warriors in the first round of the playoffs.

The postseason appearance marked Houston's first since 2020 and when the team underwent a massive rebuild.

While the Rockets have come a long way since their 20-win seasons, they still have a ways to go.

"Losing in the first round as the No. 2 seed should be considered a failure. But a big-picture approach -- and taking into account where Houston was after trading James Harden in 2021 -- shows how much the Rockets overachieved this season. The 17-, 20- and 22-win seasons since Harden was traded were replaced with 41 wins a year ago and 52 this season," ESPN insider Bobby Marks wrote.

"The true test now comes with how the Rockets' front office and coaching staff evaluate the roster and then address their playoff shortcomings. That approach should be much different from the regular season, during which Houston rightfully took a conservative approach to tweaking its roster.

"... The Rockets have a defensive identity under head coach Ime Udoka (they ranked fifth in efficiency this season) and are comfortably positioned to have success over at least the next few seasons. They will add a top-10 pick from Phoenix to a roster that will return Alperen Sengun, Jabari Smith Jr., Amen Thompson, Tari Eason, Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, Fred VanVleet and last year's lottery pick Reed Sheppard."

The Rockets will find out exactly where that pick lands at the NBA Draft Lottery tomorrow at 6 p.m. CT.