NBA Power Rankings: Rockets Rising After Free Agency?
The Houston Rockets have given people reason to believe they won't be hanging at the bottom of the standings in the upcoming season.
After three years of hovering around the league's worst record, the Rockets made moves to try and change that reality this summer, signing the likes of Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks. The team also added veterans Jock Landale, Jeff Green and Aaron Holiday, while hiring Ime Udoka and drafting Amen Thompson and Cam Whitmore.
The Rockets' offseason acquisitions helped the team jump up six spots from No. 30 to 24 in Bleacher Report's latest power rankings.
"A six-spot jump is aggressive," Bleacher Report writes. "Maybe it's too bullish on the additions of Fred VanVleet (an undersized guard who hasn't had an above-average true shooting percentage since 2017-18) and Dillon Brooks (one of the worst high-volume shooters of the three-point era), but those two feel like just the right amount of experience to mix with one of the NBA's more interesting cores."
Without full control of the team's top pick in 2024, the Rockets have no reason to "tank" or try rebuilding this season. That's why they have tried accelerating the process by utilizing their cap space and signing some veterans. If those veterans can complement the strong young core on the roster accumulated over the past three years, Houston may be climbing the power rankings ladder even more during the season.
You can follow Jeremy Brener on Twitter @JeremyBrener.
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