HOUSTON (AP) — The Houston Rockets still have a long way to go after finishing with the league’s worst record for the last two seasons as they embarked on a complete rebuild.
This season is likely to be another tough one for this extraordinarily young team, but one of its rising stars issued a guarantee ahead of training camp.
“This year the Houston Rockets will be better than last year,” Jalen Green, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 draft, said Monday. “If we buy and stay together and I think the team will take off.”
These Rockets aren’t banking on winning a lot of games or vying for a playoff spot. What they are focused on is improvement and building toward the future.
General manager Rafael Stone made it clear that this team won’t be one that anyone can take lightly.
“If we are a team that is very hard to play at both ends of the court … I think for a team like us, for a young and up-and-coming team, I think that’s the measure of success,” he said.
The Rockets went 20-62 last season, and just 17 the season before. They aren’t predicted to have a much better record this year, but coach Stephen Silas needs to see growth every time his team takes the court.
“There has to be a level of improvement,” he said. “The team that we see next Sunday against San Antonio and the way that we play is going to be different than the team that we see post-All-Star break. So having some level of patience, obviously. But there has to be steady, marked improving as the season goes on.”
A year after opening the season with four 19-year-olds on the roster, the Rockets will again field one of the youngest teams in the league. Their training camp roster features seven players who are 20 or younger, including three starters in Green and Alperen Sengun — both 20 — and 19-year-old rookie Jabari Smith, Jr., who was the third overall pick in this year’s draft.
Kevin Porter Jr., who at 22 is like a big brother to others, loves the youth on the team.
“Our team is filled with young guys and we’re filled with fire,” he said. “We want to get better and want to be the best. I think that all of us being around the same age and working together is a big part of our chemistry and growth.”
GETTING DEFENSIVE
It might take some time for Smith to settle in offensively in the NBA, but the Rockets are convinced he’ll make an immediate impact on defense.
“He is such a gifted defensive player right now … him as a defender is what I’m so, so…
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