For the Houston Rockets, these are the three questions the team faces in the final 19 games of the season.
The Houston Rockets were able to ride the spectacular play of James Harden throughout most of the first half of the season and found themselves as high as the fourth seed in the Western Conference. Despite losing Chris Paul, Clint Capela and Eric Gordon to injuries, the Rockets have remained relevant and have kept relying on dominant performances from Harden, even with a fully replenished roster now after the 2019 All-Star break.
Now having won their last five games, they sit just six games back from the first seed in the Western Conference. FiveThirtyEight predicts that the team will finish 13-6 in the final 19 games, despite having one of the stronger schedules to finish out the season, according to ESPN’s strength of schedule index.
The jury still seems to be out on new acquisitions like Iman Shumpert and Terrence Jones, but reserves like Austin Rivers and Kenneth Faried have become key contributors, despite Faried moving to the bench in the midst of Capela’s return. But the Rockets are returning to the fast-paced offense they’re used to now with everyone at full strength.
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As the season enters the home stretch, here’s a look at three big questions still facing the Rockets.