The NBA’s worst team from the 2021-22 season will try to get off to a good start to the 2022-23 season when Houston travels to Atlanta for an opener on Wednesday night. The Rockets finished with a league-worst record of 20-62, going on four separate losing streaks of at least seven games. They are facing an Atlanta squad that made the Eastern Conference Finals in 2021 before barely making the playoffs last year.
Houston will be a rebuilding team again this year—there’s really no way to get around that. The Rockets have one of the youngest rosters in the NBA and are coming off the worst season of any team in the league. They went on a 15-game losing streak early last season and were never able to find a winning rhythm. Houston is now two years separated from the James Harden era, so it has to fully embrace the young core that it has. The Rockets added to their youth by selecting Jabari Smith with the No. 3 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft and Tari Eason at No. 17. They traded center Christian Wood to Dallas for several expiring contracts as well.
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It will take some time for Houston to turn itself into a playoff contender in the Western Conference, as most of the teams on that side of the NBA are expected to contend for a playoff spot. The Rockets are expected to have a starting five of Kevin Porter Jr., Jalen Green, Eric Gordon, Alperen Sengun and Smith Jr. Gordon is the most experienced player on the roster and is always a threat from the perimeter, while Green was the most impressive rookie on the team last year. Sengun served as Wood’s backup, so he will now have an opportunity to make an impression as the starter. The Rockets gave up 25 points per game in transition last year, which was the worst of any team in the last 18 years.
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