Predicting where the Rockets will finish in the Western Conference next season

The Rockets will have a solid season

So, those are our tiers. What's our prediction?

Well, we've listed three teams that will be better than Houston. Let's assume that the Suns and Wolves join that club. We've also listed three teams we're confident the Rockets will be ahead of. That leaves six teams.

Say the Rockets are ahead of half of them. We're not specifically predicting which teams they leap. We're simply saying that of those six teams, the Rockets should be able to jump half of them. Houston's depth is an asset here. They can stomach a major injury more comfortably than most of the teams in that tier.

If we're right, it means the Rockets will need to advance through the play-in tournament to achieve their goals for 2024-25.

Prediction: 9th seed