Bold Rockets regular season prediction isn't as crazy as it sounds

The Houston Rockets made tremendous improvements to their roster this summer. Bleacher Report is predicting them to match their 2024-25 record anyway, and it makes sense.

Some Rockets fans are seething. How does that make sense? The Rockets flipped Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks for Kevin Durant, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Clint Capela. In what world does that not make them a better team?

It will make Rockets fans instinctively angry. The entire purpose of this summer was to improve the team. How could anyone make the argument that the Rockets didn't accomplish that goal?

Let's give Bleacher Report's Andy Bailey some room to plead his case.

Rockets may not improve regular season win total

"In this Western Conference, though, getting any number of wins over 50 is going to be tough. And the Rockets' presumed leading scorer, Durant, turns 37 in September. He played 75 games in 2023-24, but he's averaged just under 55 over the half-decade since returning from his ruptured Achilles"

-Andy Bailey, Bleacher Report

It's hard to deny Bailey's logic. Acquiring Durant won't change the Rockets' regular season fortunes if Durant isn't on the floor. At 37, it's safer to assume that he'll need to take some time off.

As Bailey continues to point out, the Rockets are lacking a high-end perimeter creator behind Durant. When he's absent, it'll be on Alperen Sengun to carry the offense. He can do that against weak competition, but it'll be a challenge against playoff teams. That's a situation the Rockets will inevitably find themselves in throughout the year.

So, the Rockets may not surpass their 2024-25 win total. That will be disappointing to some fans.

Does it matter?

Rockets need to focus on the postseason

Not one bit.

The Rockets didn't make the changes they made to win 60 games. They made them in order to win playoff series'. If they falter in the postseason, that will be the time for disappointment.

Don't count on it (if you're a fan of an opposing team). The Rockets' dominant rebounding should hold in 2025-26. They should remain one of the best defensive teams in the NBA - if anything, they have a chance to improve in that area. As long as Durant, Amen Thompson, Alperen Sengun, and a reasonable number of the Rockets' role players are available for the postseason, Houston should win a series (or more).

Bailey isn't making predictions for the postseason. He's talking about the regular season. Assuming that Durant takes some time off, the Rockets could even regress in the regular season. As long as the playoffs go well, nobody should mind:

Even if that feels crazy at the moment.