Is There A Path To Contention For The Rockets Current Core?

The teams competing in the NBA Finals are putting on a display of high-level basketball that has given the New York Knicks an early advantage in the series over the San Antonio Spurs. Some teams that didn't make it to the Finals like the Oklahoma City Thunder and Boston Celtics are still capable of reaching the NBA mountaintop.

The Houston Rockets currently sit at a tier below the cream of the crop teams in the league. They fall in the category of competitive teams that could win a round or even make a conference finals appearance, but not necessarily reach the heights of competing in or winning an NBA Finals.

With what the current talent on the team has shown so far, they may not be able to reach that level without a significant talent boost in some areas on the roster.

There are a few pathways that could increase the level of talent across the board to help the Rockets compete at a higher level.

Houston's preferred method is improvement from their young players who may still have room to grow before they reach their potential. Players like Amen Thompson and Alperen Şengün have already received accolades in their young careers. They could be candidates for another leap to another tier of elite players.

However, it could be argued that those two players could be closer to their peak than some of their peers. Thompson has established himself as an elite defender with some mechanical limitations on offense. Şengün has displayed his offensive creativity but struggles when defenses focus on limiting his scoring.

If one of these players can elevate past their limitations, or at least mitigate the impact of their limits, they could help the team take the next step. However, the pathway forward to that result is unclear.

Other young players like Jabari Smith Jr. and Tari Eason seem more suited to the impact role player, and not the level of a star a team can rely on. Reed Sheppard's career trajectory is uncertain, but his current level is of a bench spark plug.

The other option the Rockets could take to elevate their talent to contention level is through a trade, but one that doesn't completely remove the current talent that would still be needed to compete. There are few league-changing trades the Rockets could make to become a Finals caliber team due to their need to keep as much talent as possible. Their evaluation of their talent could become an important factor in determing if a trade is necessary.

The return of vets like Fred VanVleet and Steven Adams should help support the young players in their efforts to improve. However, those players aren't there based on what they have shown, and it could be difficult for them to raise their level of play to what's required to be one of the final teams standing.

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