The two games with the Warriors and the Jazz also gave the Rockets a wake-up call: as long as they work hard, whether it is the Warriors, the Second In the West, or the Jazz, who have an All-Star center like Gobert, the Rockets have the possibility of winning the battle. The Rockets have been on the road in the last two games, first on the road, and then almost beat the Warriors on the road, if it weren't for Curry's last-minute three-pointer throw, the last laugh of this game would probably be Space City.
After the death with the Warriors, Rockets player Wood also said that this team is capable of competing with strong teams, and perhaps the Rockets realized this a little late, but it is not too late for the Rockets' rebuilding plan. Why? Look at what the Rockets have done this season, in addition to a few rookie players who need to be vigorously trained, what the Rockets are currently doing is looking for the most suitable role players for future reconstruction.
Tate, Matthews, Christopher, And Shin Kyung are all members of the Rockets' future rebuilding lineup, although they are not as important as Porter Jr. and Jaylen Green, but for the Rockets, the strength of the role players also determines the strength of the future lineup, and they cannot be sloppy at all.
In the game against the Jazz and Warriors, the Rockets' role players played a key role, although they failed to complete the 2-game winning streak, Matthews shot multiple key three-pointers, Christopher's three-pointer and defense at key moments helped the Rockets, Shinkin became Wood's best substitute on the inside, and Tate was the most comprehensive player in the Rockets' front.
It can be said that with these first-class role players, the gap between the Rockets and the strong teams is only the need for 1-2 All-Star core players. At present, Porter Jr. and Wood are the rocket team's outside and inside cores, but the rocket team's core capabilities also determine the team's ceiling. Wood and Porter Jr. are not particularly talented players, at best in the Rockets they are the core, for other teams, the two are at most the strength of the rotation players.
That is to say, the Rockets need to "replace" Porter Jr. and Wood in the future reconstruction, replacing them with a real tactical core like Harden or Paul, coupled with Jaylen Green's assistance and a high-quality role player group, the Rockets will become a real strong team at that time. In other words, the Rockets' goal this season is to develop young players, and the second is to select quality role players for future use.
Let's see what the Rockets can get next summer, first of all, the Rockets can get rid of Wall's super annual salary of more than $40 million, then the Rockets may have 1-2 high-pick first-round picks, this summer's draft meeting, the Rockets can get at least the top 4 picks, and if the Rockets continue to swing for a year next season, another high-pick pick will be in hand, plus the leader Jaylen Green, at least 3 high-pick rookies will be in the Rockets at the same time.
Wall's contract expires to vacate more than 40 million salary space, the Rockets can recruit 1-2 big stars as the core, coupled with high picks rookies + role players, optimistically, the Rockets can complete the rebuild as early as next summer, of course, the premise is that the Rockets can attract All-Star players to join in the next summer.