Rockets Pass With Flying Colors in Midseason Report Card

The Houston Rockets have been remarkable this season.

Jan 20, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets forward Amen Thompson (1) dunks against the Detroit Pistons in the second quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images | Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

The Houston Rockets are just halfway through the season, but they have made quite the impact so far.

Sitting pretty at second place in the Western Conference standings, the Rockets have the potential to make a serious run in the playoffs.

CBS Sports writer Brad Botkin agrees giving the Rockets an "A" in his midseason report cards.

"The Rockets are way ahead of schedule as the Western Conference's No. 2 seed at the halfway point. With depth to spare, big, trade-able salary (namely in the form of Fred VanVleet), and all sorts of young talent in which almost every team would be interested, they're ripe for a consolidation trade but in no rush to do it," Botkin writes. 

"Unless this season completely falls apart, which is unlikely barring a rash of major injuries, it's already been a huge success. The Rockets are going to make the playoffs, potentially as a top-four seed, and start cutting their postseason teeth on what feels like a short path to contention. Hell, it's entirely reasonable that they make serious postseason noise this season, even as currently constructed. Alperen Sengun is an All-Star. The defense, led by the amazing Amen Thompson, is loaded. Green holds the key to the ceiling, and if this recent stretch that has seen him score at least 25 points on 60% true-shooting in eight consecutive games (a shooting-guard feat matched only by Michael Jordan in all of NBA history) continues, they can beat anyone, anywhere, any time."

The Rockets still have a ways to go because they now consider themselves a title contender. This wasn't the case before the season, but now that the Rockets have one of the best records in the NBA, they may as well do what they can to try to get as far as they can.

It will take some adjusting and a couple deeper digs from everyone on the roster, but if the Rockets can get their shovels deep, they may be able to strike some gold earlier than expected.

The Rockets are off for the next two days, but they return to the court on Saturday to visit the Cleveland Cavaliers.

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