The NBA season will be here in a few weeks, so we are going to preview the Houston Rockets. This post will continue our NBA odds series as we hand out a Rockets over/under win total prediction and pick.

The Rockets finished last season with a 22-60 record. They do play a tougher schedule, but they still struggled to score, and defend. Houston had two players play a full 82 games in Tari Eason, and Kenyon Martin Jr. They both came off the bench, but they were valuable assets. Jabari Smith Jr, Jalen Green, and Alperen Sengun all played 75+ games last season. Green was the leading scorer as he put up 22.1 points per game to go along with 3.7 assists, and 3.7 rebounds. Kevin Porter Jr missed 23 games, but he averaged 19.2 points per game, and over 5.0 rebounds and assists. He was the leading assist man on the team. Sengun was the leading rebounder as he averaged 9.0 per game.

Because of their lack of success last season, the Rockets earned themselves the fourth pick in the draft. With that pick, the Rockets took Amen Thompson out of Overtime Elite. Houston also had the 20th pick in the draft. With that pick, the Rockets took Cam Whitmore out of Villanova. Their other notable acquisitions include Fred VanVleet, and Dillon Brooks. The Rockets made some other moves in the off-season, but they were nothing worth knowing. However, VanVleet and Brooks are going to make an immediate impact.

Here are the Houston Rockets win total odds, courtesy of FanDuel

Rockets win total odds

Over: 31.5 (-115)

Under: 31.5 (-105)

Why the Rockets will win over 31.5 games

The Rockets made some very good additions this off-season, and they have their main core returning. Fred VanVleet is going to be a massive help for Houston. The Rockets have great young guards in Porter Jr, and Green, but VanVleet brings veteran experience, and the leadership Houston will need. VanVleet is going to elevate the guard play by the Rockets. He is good enough to add five or six wins to the Rockets' total alone. I think VanVleet will make the other guards much better.

Houston won 22 games last season. They will need to hope new experience to their younger players, and additions of Brooks and VanVleet will be good enough to add 10 wins. One thing that goes overlooked is their draft picks. Amen Thompson, and Cam Whitmore are solid draft picks that will make a difference. Thompson and Whitmore are both athletic forwards with the ability to help the team. I am not sure how the Rockets will fix their lineup, but they have a lot of players that can do some damage.

Why the Rockets will win under 31.5 games

For one, age. VanVleet is very good, but the question is if he is good enough to add 10 wins. VanVleet can lead the team, and he can make plays, but he can not make shots for his teammates. Houston shot 45.7 percent from the field last season, and they shot 32.7 percent from three. As mentioned, the Rockets scored the third-fewest points per game last season, and both those percentages rank in the bottom-3 in the NBA. Their three point percentage was the worst in the NBA. Houston needs to shoot the ball better this season. It does not matter who they added, or how good those players are, the Rockets have to shoot the ball better.

Houston was very bad on the defensive end of the court last season. VanVleet can play a little bit of defense, and their two rookies have the ability to defend the ball, as well. However, their main core is back, and they struggled a lot. Houston allowed opponents to score pretty easily last season, and that will not help them win games this year. Houston will not win games if they continue to allow close to 120 points per game. The Rockets need to play much better on that side of the court if they want to win 32 games.

Final Rockets over/under win total prediction and pick

This is tough. I have a lot of faith in the young talent on the Rockets, and I like Fred VanVleet a lot. However, winning 10 more games is going to be very tough. I am going to go over 31.5, though. VanVleet is very good, and their young core has a lot of talent, they just needed a sense of direction. With the experience of VanVleet and Brooks, the Rockets are going to get that leadership and direction. The Rockets should be able to win around 35 games this season.

Final Rockets over/under win total prediction and pick: Over 31.5 (-115)