Hustle: Houston Rockets 2022/2023 Season Preview
Raising the Glass. Secret Weapons. Fusing the Ignition.
Hustle. A word every person is familiar with, regardless of their profession. Whether it’s working three jobs to make ends meet, or spending endless hours evolving good into greatness, we can all relate to the art of the hustle. In basketball, hustle is the ultimate X factor. A variable every player possesses, yet only few choose to truly test the end of the spectrum. Take Patrick Beverly, P.J. Tucker and current Rocket players Jae’Sean Tate and Tari Eason, who hustle harder than the average NBA professional. And as we enter Year Three of the Stephen Silas era, Houston will need to hustle more than ever this season for their Head Coach. It’s no secret that head coaching positions in professional sports can be like a game of musical chairs. And the noise has never been hotter on Silas’ seat, despite having only two seasons of head-coaching experience under his belt. However, if Silas can instill a little Bob Knight into his personality, he doesn’t need to start tossing chairs, he needs to be more angry. I’m not saying Silas needs to be mad, he’s got one of the best smiles in the NBA, but according to his own players (from a direct source), he’s not hard enough on them in practice, and during games. Hopefully, during some downtime in the offseason, Silas watched Hustle, one of the better films you’ll find on Netflix released this year. In the Adam Sandler-driven vehicle, Sandler’s character makes a statement that should be the Rockets’ mantra this season: “Obsession is going to beat talent every time.” Now, obviously this won’t be the case every night. But if Houston hustles harder than their opponent, they can improve on their ghastly 20-win season, the worst record in the entire league last year. If improvements aren’t made, Silas will officially be on the hot seat, putting his job in jeopardy.
Lucky for the Rockets, they have a plethora of secret weapons that are primed to be unleashed, and wreak havoc on opponents this season. Let’s start at this past summer’s NBA Draft. Houston selected Auburn’s Jabari Smith Jr. with the third overall pick in the draft. In my opinion, Duke’s Paolo Banchero, who was selected first, would have been the safer bet, but Smith has the higher ceiling, with the potential to be a true superstar in this league. And he has a chip on his shoulder after surprisingly falling to third place in a draft many expected him to be at the top. The second pick, already-injury prone Chet Holmgren, is out for the season after suffering an injury in the pre-season. Holmgren made brief contact with superstar talent for the first time in his life: LeBron James slightly bumped the lanky Holmgren, who’s body unfortunately couldn’t sustain the bump from one of the NBA’s all time greats. So, the Rockets made the right pick with the available players. It will be interesting to see how quickly Smith Jr. adjusts to the NBA’s style of play, and if he will be a late bloomer, like Jalen Green’s hot finish last season, or impact the squad immediately. Speaking of Green. The rest of the NBA is about to be put on notice. I know the preseason are only exhibition games, and don’t really mean anything in the sense of records or trying to make the playoffs, but Green’s shown he’s ready to make a statement in his sophomore season. Combine his hot finish last season with a spectacular preseason, and Green is poised for a breakout-season. Houston likely won’t win enough games for him to be named an All-Star, but Green has a legitimate chance to be the NBA’s Most Improved Player this year. Green’s already displayed a phenomenal improvement in ball handling, specifically his ability to stop-and-go, and pull up for a wide-open shot any time he please. Green’s always been a talented ball handler, but now he looks in compete control, like a basketball wizard. There’s only one real threat to the Most-Improved Player award: his own teammate, Aleperen Sengun. The Turkish phenom is coming off a rookie season where he excelled in limited playing time. Sengun turned 20 less than 4 months ago, and is line for an increased amount of floor action this season after the Rockets traded away Christian Wood to the Dallas Mavericks in the offseason. While Sengun may not start to begin the season, he’s cemented himself as Houston’s center of the future, barring any injuries or unforeseeable unwanted circumstances. Look for Sengun to put opposing centers in the spin-cycle with his Dream Shake-like moves in the post. If you’re matching top against Sengun this season, get ready to be spend some time in Sengun Solitary, as the Turkish stud excels at leaving opponents alone and in awe after one of his spectacular interior moves. Expect Kevin Porter Jr. to continue to improve as the team’s floor general in his second full season with Rockets. The most hidden secret on the entire roster could be Tari Eason, who has the potential to be the steal of the draft. Eason is a hustler. If you watched him play at all in the preseason, he’s got a P.J. Tucker-like mentality: he’s going to dive for loose balls, do the dirty work, does what it takes to win: hustle. Silas has a tough task on his hand in trying to fuse all these elements together and ignite a Houston squad that is packed with young talent on the roster. Silas will have some tough choices regarding rotations, distributing playing time, managing different personalities, and implanting new arrivals to the roster. If he can manage to make everyone play, and hustle, for each other, the Rockets have a chance to sizably improve over their torrid record last year. The squad needs the right coach to empower these players to seize the most out of their potential. Houston will find out if the third time’s the charm for Head Coach Stephen Silas this year. If the Rockets fail to win at least 26 games, this could be his last season. I think he deserves at least one more shot as the Head Coach after this campaign. After winning only three more games last season over the previous one, Silas needs to hustle, and start being more assertive as the squad’s Head Coach.
So, let’s raise a glass to another season of Houston Rockets, and NBA basketball. Another year of buzzer beaters, breakout performances, iconic plays, legendary moments, Steph Curry’s hanging mouthguard, and, still, yes, the only man who Father Time can’t seem to beat: LeBron James, who’s still playing like the best player in the world as he approaches age 38, entering his 20th season in this punishingly physical league. The NBA’s not as physical as the NFL, but in my opinion, the NBA is home to best athletes in the world. Expect another wild season of memorable games and hopefully the Rockets can start to show elevated improvement this year. Houston’s slowly improved over the last two seasons, basically trying to recover from the James Harden-fallout. It’s time to display real hustle and an improved show for the fans this season. It’s always an exciting time when your squad has a young, talented nucleus (especially with a Top-3 Draft Pick) yet to play his first official NBA game. This season they have the potential to evolve from the league’s bottom feeders, into a squad with the potential to make noise in the playoffs in a couple seasons. Houston’s closer to postseason action than the pundits realize. The time is now for the Rockets. A time more than ever to be dedicated, engrossed, consumed, and even obsessed… let the hustle begin.
