Will Houston Rockets Surpass Over/Under Win Total During 2024-25 NBA Season

The Houston Rockets should be able to surpass expectations again next season.

Mar 10, 2024; Sacramento, California, USA; Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun (28) and forward Jabari Smith Jr. (10) stand on the court during the third quarter against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports / Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

The return of football means one thing -- basketball is creeping up on the horizon. Sure, it's still well over a month and a half away before preseason even tips off, but the bulk of the offseason is in the past, and we're in the final dog days before real basketball action gets underway.

With this period here, there isn't much basketball discourse outside of previewing the coming season and projecting how teams might finish or how the seedings could play out.

The Houston Rockets are among the tougher teams to predict. They've got veteran players such as Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks, with rising stars Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun likely taking a leap to support them. The rest of their young core coming together and meshing on the court while developing could significantly raise Houston's ceiling on the season.

Can the Rockets outperform expectations in the 2024-25 NBA season, though? Where does Vegas place Houston's win total on the season?

According to ESPN BET, the Rockets' over/under win total on the season is placed at 42.5 wins. They're coming off a 41-41 season, so 43 wins hitting the over seems valid, and would be a slight bump from a season ago.

In all fairness, the Rockets could see legitimate improvement from their young core and rookie guard Reed Sheppard could elevate the team off the bench and the team could still not improve too much in the win column. It is no knock on Houston, but the Western Conference is not only tough, but it runs incredibly deep.

There are plenty of moving parts for the Rockets, though. Their young core could develop plenty. Ime Udoka's culture and scheme as the head coach could become more established. VanVleet could get back to his All-Star play. Should this be the case, the Rockets could more than likely surpass their win total, and maybe even compete for 45 wins.

But, as mentioned, there are things the team can't control -- like the rest of the conference playing incredible basketball and wiping Houston's improvement away and that could reflect in the win total.

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