The Houston Rockets will start off their 2023-24 NBA regular season run with a matchup against the Orlando Magic on Oct. 25.
The Rockets ended their 2023-24 preseason schedule with a 4-1 record. They ended their schedule with a 110-104 win over the Miami Heat on Friday. Houston guards Jalen Green and Fred VanVleet scored 20 points apiece in the Toyota Center victory. Guard Amen Thompson added 19 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals off the bench. Center Alperen Şengün notched a 16-point, 12-rebound double-double in 27 minutes of play.
The Rockets will face the Magic, San Antonio Spurs, Golden State Warriors, Charlotte Hornets and Sacramento Kings during their first five games of the regular season. Houston split its two matchups against Orlando last season, prevailing in a 134-127 victory in the Amway Center before falling in a 116-110 loss at home.
What are some bold predictions for the Rockets 2023-24 campaign?
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Jabari Smith will have a breakout season
Smith, the No. 3 selection in the 2022 NBA Draft, finished his rookie season with averages of 12.8 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. He earned a spot on the NBA All-Rookie Second Team, joining Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren, Pistons guard Jaden Ivey, San Antonio Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan and a Rockets teammate in forward Tari Eason. The former Auburn forward averaged 35.5 points, seven rebounds and four assists per game during the two games he played in the 2023 NBA Summer League.
“Just build,” Smith said during media day, via an October video from Locked On Rockets. “Just show what I've added to my game, show what I've learned. Just be more confident and more consistent and just be like a whole different player, really. Confidence-wise, swagger-wise, just a whole different player.”
Jabari Smith will be an important part of a Houston roster that features a 19-year-old Cam Whitmore, a 21-year-old Green and a 21-year-old Şengün. If he can, he may have a breakout year for the Rockets during the 2023-24 season.
Amen Thompson will make an All-Rookie Team
The Rockets selected Thompson with the No. 4 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. He averaged 11.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.2 steals per game during the five games he played in during the 2023 NBA preseason. The former Overtime Elite guard scored 12 points and dished four assists during a 120-87 preseason win over the New Orleans Pelicans at Legacy Arena.
“He's getting up to speed,” Rockets head coach Ime Udoka said, via Inside the Rockets. “He's learning on the fly. He already has some natural abilities and instincts that you can't teach, and the IQ and the passing ability that stands out immediately.
“But he'll learn as he goes. He's done a great job.”
The Rockets will come close to making the Play-In Tournament
The Rockets ended last season with a record of 22-60, putting them in 14th place in the Western Conference and fourth in the Southwest Division. They placed 18 games behind the Oklahoma City Thunder for the final spot in the Play-In tournament.
Houston signed VanVleet to a three-year, $130 million contract in free agency. The former Wichita State guard spent seven years with the Toronto Raptors after he signed a multi-year contract with the squad in 2016. He averaged 19.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game in his final season with the Raptors. He highlighted his season with a 20-point, 20-assist performance during a 20-point win over the Hornets in April.
If the Rockets can tap into the potential of their young core, they may have the opportunity to take a spot in the Play-In Tournament during the 2023-24 season.
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