It feels like all the major professional sports teams in Houston have some oddly constructed rosters. The Texans are an all-world defense with a struggling offense. The Astros have logjams on the infield and a cadre of youngsters in the outfield.
Then there are these Rockets. In their case, it isn’t entirely their fault. Two of the most important (if not _best_) players are out for the season in Fred VanVleet and Steven Adams. Their contributions are desperately missed as this team tries to win without the roster they built in the offseason. There are other issues to be sure including a team that, even with VanVleet and Adams, was woefully lacking offensively, but not much you can do about it now. Let’s dig in.
**Jabari Smith, Jr. Improvement**
One bright spot has been the stead improvement of Smith, who was terrific Monday night in a blowout win over the Jazz. He had 31 points, 9 rebounds, 3 steals and 3 blocks while shooting 6-11 from beyond the arc. Over the last couple months, Smith has been an effective on both ends of the floor, but his improved distance shooting (nearly 50 percent in the last 10 games) has really stood out. They need a lot more of this.
**Turnovers**
To illustrate just how strange this roster is, take one stat: turnovers. During the 2024-25 season, they were eleventh in turnovers per game. This year? Twenty-seventh. In their brutal fourth quarter collapse in New York on Saturday, they had 9 turnovers in the fourth quarter. They racked up 27 against a flailing and tanking Utah Jazz team Monday night (still managing to blow them out). This isn’t just a lack of VanVleet, though it’s not helpful. This is a systemic issue based on the fact the Rockets have very few capable ball handlers and legit playmakers to run the show in the half court.
They also are a generally poor decision making team. They struggle to know the right thing to do in a range of situations and it’s troubling.
**Kevin Durant-ing**
Burner phones aside, if you aren’t in awe of the way Durant is simply Durant-ing for the Rockets, you don’t like basketball. He remains the Rockets best and most efficient option on offense. His midrange jumper may as well be a layup. Too often when he isn’t on the floor, the team simply struggles to put points on the board, which is probably why he is third in minutes played at 37 years old. It’s rare for a player to come to a new team and become the best player just like that, but Durant is “him” as they say, and the Rockets would be nowhere without him.
**A Helpful Schedule**
The silver lining is the Rockets have one of the easiest remaining schedules in basketball to close out the season. When you consider they gave up 34 points on 27 turnovers against the Jazz and still won by 20, you can see how valuable it will be for the team to play a bunch of cream puffs as the season wanes.