The Houston Rockets are scheduled to take on Orlando in the Magic Kingdom on October 25, tipping off the 2023-2024 NBA season in Florida. It should be an exciting one for the Rockets regardless of their finish, as the team is loaded with young talent as well as controversial defensive stalwart Dillon Brooks, who arrived from Memphis this past offseason.

Rookie Cam Whitmore signed on the dotted line recently, adding another talented, versatile and athletic forward to a team currently stocked with them. Brooks is already up to his old tricks, receiving a $25,000 fine for a play that sounds as if it's straight out of Draymond Green's playbook.

Heading into the 2023-2024 season the Rockets have one major concern that Brooks can help shore up (if he stays on the court long-term): defense.

Rockets ‘D' Must Improve For 2023-2024 Season

Last season the Rockets gave up 118.6 points, good for the third-to-last position in the NBA in that department. The Rockets will need a stronger effort from their young players this season, and former Celtics coach Ime Udoka has been tasked with ensuring it happens.

So far the Rockets have done a better job this preseason, giving up 103 points and 87 points to the Pacers and Pelicans, respectively.

As the preseason heats up, the Rockets' youth will continue to be tested. Starting center Alperen Sengun is 21 as is starting shooting guard Jalen Green.

At 25 and 29 years old, respectively, Rockets new additions Fred VanVleet and Brooks will be tasked with providing leadership as the team's veterans.

Brooks has the skills to be a lockdown defender for the Rockets' 2023-2024 season.

Dillon Brooks

The concern is whether he is motivated to defend at a high level for 82 games, or whether he will let his emotions get the best of him, riling up opposing players in ways that aren't always smart as he seemingly did to LeBron James in last year's playoffs with the Grizzlies.

What VanVleet, Brooks Bring to the Table

VanVleet is the antithesis of the players the Rockets have brought in for the 2023-2024 preseason and season, considering he stands just 6-foot-1.

Paired with Udoka's stacked roster of athletic, long and potentially disruptive young players, VanVleet can become a quarterback on offense and defense as the young Rockets' point guard of the present.

Last season VanVleet recorded nearly two steals per game (1.7), a year after recording 1.8 steals per game. VanVleet has also averaged more than one-half of a block in each of the last three seasons despite his diminutive stature.

As anyone who watched him lead the Toronto Raptors to the NBA title knows, VanVleet is a crafty and intelligent player on both ends of the court. VanVleet can help the rest of the Rockets improve their defense by teaching them the tricks of the trade.

Brooks was clowned on X after he was ejected just five minutes into his Rockets preseason debut. Brooks is busy playing his ‘Dillon the Villain' role, which should make for an interesting contrast between his style and the squeaky clean VanVleet.

Brooks, even with his reputation as an elite defensive stopper, averaged just .9 steals and .2 blocks last season for the Grizzlies.

If the former Oregon Duck and fellow young players including promising rookie Amen Thompson, Green and others can play united under Udoka, the Rockets' defense could improve in a hurry.

Now it's up for the Rockets to focus on fundamentals and becoming a team prior to their upcoming October 25 battle against the Magic.