The Houston Rockets were not supposed to beat the Thunder

Houston Rockets fans may be getting ahead of themselves.

Who could blame them? The Rockets are ahead of schedule. At 17-9, they're considerably higher in the Western Conference standings than anyone could have rationally predicted. Suddenly, it feels like they should win every game they play.

It may feel that way, but those feelings aren't based in reality. The Rockets are not the best team in the NBA. That reality smacked Rockets fans in the face on Saturday. The Thunder outclassed them in the NBA Cup Semifinals.

Rockets humbled by rolling Thunder

The Rockets played their characteristic brand of bully ball. They looked similar to how they looked when they beat the Warriors, but the Thunder simply refused to be bullied.

They hung 111 points on the Rockets, while Houston mustered 96. No matter how transcendent their defense is, 96 points will almost never be enough to beat the best team in the conference.

It's hard to know where to begin. The Rockets shot 11/46 (23.9%) from long-range. The Thunder did a marvelous job of getting Alperen Sengun in check. He had 13 points on 6/16 shooting. Without their engine firing on all cylinders, the Rockets struggled to get off the runway.

Meanwhile, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander proved that he's the best player on the floor when these teams clash. He had 32 points. Gilgeous-Alexander was a modest 8/21 from the field. but he still found a way to generate efficient offense by finishing 14/15 from the line.

Gilgeous-Alexander reminded Rockets fans what a lead guard looks like. Jalen Green and Fred VanVleet were a combined 8/29 from the field. Backcourt efficiency has been a glaring issue for the Rockets throughout 2024-25.

Should fans be concerned?

Rockets remain ahead of schedule

The Rockets were not supposed to be a better team than the Thunder in 2024.25. Frankly, they weren't supposed to be better than the Warriors:

Or the Mavericks, the Nuggets, or even the Suns.

Yet, here we are. The Rockets are well ahead of schedule. The Rockets are ahead of all those teams besides the Thunder. For a team as young as this one, that's exciting.

Houston has ample room to improve. They need a lead guard and some shooting. To compete with the Thunder long-term, they'll need to make some roster changes.

Luckily, the Rockets have a surplus of assets they can use to make those moves. Some of those pieces could emerge from the current roster. The future is bright, and for that matter, so is the present - despite this tough loss.

Let's not get ahead of ourselves.