4 best-case scenarios for the Houston Rockets in 2024-25

What's the best-case scenario for the Houston Rockets in 2024-25?

How about an NBA championship? Why stop there? How about an 82-0 season? What if the Rockets are so dominant that Adam Siler installs a new mercy rule midseason and declares them the NBA champions for the next half-decade?

Well, we're not going that far in this piece. We won't even entertain possibilities as remote as "Amen Thompson develops a league-average jumper". In this piece, we're looking at realistic best-case scenarios for the Rockets in 2024-25. These are mostly modest, attainable goals the Rockets should be setting.

Here are 4 of them.

1. Steven Adams returns to form

Adams' last season with a clean bill of health was in 2021-22. He averaged 6.9 points and 10.0 rebounds in 26.3 minutes per game. He had a Box Plus/Minus (BPM) of 2.0.

Adams won't find 26.3 minutes per night with Alperen Sengun in the starting lineup. That's fine. The Rockets don't need Adams to start, but they'd love it if he was still a starting-caliber player.

This is arguably the best offensive rebounder in the league. Adams sets some of the hardest screens in the league as well. If he looks like the Adams we last saw healthy, the Rockets should have a starting-caliber big man on the floor for 48 minutes every night.

Spoiler alert: that would help them manifest another best-case scenario on this list.

2. Alperen Sengun develops a 3

Sengun is a confusing player. He's a prolific offensive producer. He's also a poor shooter and a suspect defender. Is he a building block?

We're not willing to invest much in his defense. Sengun has quick hands, and he's strong - so in some situations, he looks like a viable defender. It's still likely that his poor lateral mobility will be an issue against the league's pick-and-roll maestros. Some teams will be built to exploit Sengun on that end of the floor.

If he's a three-point shooter, it shouldn't matter. Sengun is already this productive on offense. If he had a reliable three-ball, he should be among the best offensive players in the NBA. He doesn't need to ba 6'11" Steph Curry. If Sengun can connect on 33% of a few attempts per game, defenses will need to account for his shot.

In 2024-25, that's practically a prerequisite for an offensive engine in the NBA. If Sengun can hit those levels, he'll be an engine - and an unqualified building block for this team.

Could there be another one from his draft class?