Inside The Rockets

What's Next For Rockets After NBA Cup Elimination?

The Houston Rockets were eliminated in the NBA Cup by the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Jeremy Brener

Dec 14, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Houston Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr. (10) defends against Oklahoma City Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein (55) during the fourth quarter in a semifinal of the 2024 Emirates NBA Cup at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images
Dec 14, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Houston Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr. (10) defends against Oklahoma City Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein (55) during the fourth quarter in a semifinal of the 2024 Emirates NBA Cup at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images / Kyle Terada-Imagn Images
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The Houston Rockets are heading home after a 111-96 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder at the NBA Cup semifinals in Las Vegas on Saturday night.

The loss officially eliminated the Rockets from NBA Cup title contention, setting the stage for the Thunder to meet the Milwaukee Bucks for Tuesday's championship.

After failing to make the knockout stage a year ago, the Rockets made it a few steps forward this time, beating the Golden State Warriors at home in an elimination game and losing to the Thunder as well. The experience the Rockets are gaining by both winning and losing at crucial times is priceless for the team as they learn how to play with one another in high-pressure situations.

The NBA Cup run the Rockets had is a soft launch back into relevancy within the Western Conference. While the Rockets are only a few games back from the middle of the pack in the standings, they showed why they have been successful at the beginning of the season. In a way, they have now confirmed their identity as a hard-nosed, defensive-minded team.

What this run also revealed is the fact that the Rockets need someone to step up to be an efficient scorer. There's hope that Jalen Green could become that player, but the Rockets need a bona fide scorer that they simply don't have right now.

Either someone needs to emerge into that role for the final 50 or so games of the regular season or a trade needs to be made soon to acquire one.

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Jeremy Brener
JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.

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