Houston Rockets: 5 bold predictions for the 2021-22 season
By Dylan Thayer
As we approach the upcoming NBA season, the Houston Rockets are a very interesting team to watch. Daryl Morey’s successor, Rafael Stone, has done a great job putting together a group of young players with immense potential in Kevin Porter Jr., Jalen Green, Christian Wood, and Alperen Sengun just to name a few. Two highly thought of draft picks, with two guys who have star potential but took a more unorthodox path to get where they are.
Props to the organization for believing in Wood and Porter, as they did not have to cough up much financially, but rather let the two earn their share. Both guys have All-Star potential and can make for a dangerous pick and roll combo. This will be a big year for them to improve their game and put the league on notice.
Outside of the four players mentioned above, they have the high-flying, glass-cleaner Kenyon Martin Jr., the athletically-gifted, Josh Christopher, and the defensive menace, Usman Garuba. All three have immense potential to have great NBA careers and will benefit from learning from experienced vets in John Wall and Eric Gordon. Wall will not play as the team came out and said they will look for a deal, but he should be a good mentor for the others in the meantime. These two players will play a huge role in the development of the young guys, but it is not crazy to think that both of them will part ways before the season’s end.
The Houston Rockets look to build up their young core as the season progresses. Here are five bold predictions on how their season will go.
The recent rumor around the NBA has been that a John Wall and Ben Simmons swap with the Philadelphia 76ers may be in the works, per Evan Dramell. For this trade to actually happen though, the Rockets would have to part with picks and one of their promising youngsters. Jae’Sean Tate would be a good name to throw in there, but the Sixers would really have to be sold on a duo of Wall and Joel Embiid for this to happen.
If this were to go through, the Rockets would get an elite playmaker and defender in Simmons and would have the ability to play him at the forward instead of the guard position. Enough of the hypotheticals though, let’s get into what might unfold this year in Houston.