Rockets new outlook: Everything is ready, only the championship is needed?

Last season, the Rockets achieved the second best record in the regular season in the Western Conference, where there were many strong teams and fierce competition, although they eventually lost to the experienced Golden State Warriors 3-4 in the first round of the playoffs. But for the young Rockets, it is no surprise that the 2024-25 season is definitely a successful enough season for the Rockets.

After the new coach Uduka reorganized the system, this young team began to show their fighting spirit and team defensive discipline, and also showed the progress they should have in anticipation. But when reviewing last season's Rockets, they still have two very obvious shortcomings:

First, they lack playoff experience, which is also the main reason why the team was reversed by the Warriors in the playoffs.

Second, they lack a superstar who can score stably at critical moments.

The good news is that the Rockets completed the right medicine to strengthen the trading during the offseason. The Rockets signed Durant, who had spent several years in the Suns, and he happened to be the superstar who could harvest the game at a critical moment. From an optimistic point of view, the Rockets now basically have no shortcomings.

This makes people ask:

After getting Adu, are the Rockets really doing all the work and ready to challenge the championship?

Now, this question seems not certain enough, but there is no doubt that this is the best opportunity for Adu to win the third championship in his career and prove that he can still win the championship after leaving the Warriors, and perhaps the last chance in his career.

In order to sign Adu, the Rockets only sacrificed Jaylen Green and Dillon Brooks in addition to draft pick chips. The former's advantage lies in his youth, but he is still in the nerve knife stage. Although he may become a star in the future, Jaylen Green must have to bear certain responsibilities in the series of Rockets' playoff defeats.

As for Brooks, although he has been criticized by fans before, he is still an excellent 3D puzzle; and in order to get a top core like Adu, Brooks is naturally an inevitable choice.

After this deal, the Rockets' lineup can be basically determined, including Van Vleet, Amen Thompson, Durant, Jabbarry Smith Jr., and Shin Kyung. This should be the starting lineup that the Rockets line up in the new season. Just judging from this list, the Rockets' starting five tigers are definitely gorgeous. In addition to the starting lineup, the team's bench also has high-quality rotations such as Capela, Adams, Tari Ethan, and Finney Smith.

Uduka's defensive system, 36-year-old Durant can focus more on offensive scoring, which for Adu, is the thing he is best at and has been insisting on in his career.

In addition, the Rockets have three inside centers, Shin Kyung, Capela and Adams. Even in the dialogue with the Nuggets, where Jokic is in charge, the Rockets are not at all inferior on the card. As far as the team's combat power is concerned, the one who can truly compete with the Rockets in the Western Conference may be the Mavericks with a full team.

This is a team with three top picks from Irving, Davis and Flag, and there are also high-quality combat power at the starting level such as Clay and PJ-Washington. This is a comprehensive team with both young talent and veteran experience. The only hidden danger is that Irving will miss most of the time in the new season, and Flag will also need a rookie stage to adapt. There are many parts that they need to run-in for the Mavericks' seemingly top-level lineup.

In contrast, the Rockets, as a new player, have proved many times that they can seamlessly connect to the system no matter what team they join, and this is the Rockets' biggest advantage in the new season.

There is no doubt that the Rockets in the new season will be the strongest Rockets since the Harden era. For this Red Army, they have been only a little short of the championship many times before, and this time they are ready again. As for whether it will be successfully launched in the end, we will wait for the time and the competition to verify it.