Previous Rank: 21
Net Rating: -0.2

The Houston Rockets added Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks last offseason to speed up their rebuilding timeline a bit, but the team's most important players are all still on their rookie contracts. And their age has shown repeatedly since the calendar flipped to 2024.

Houston was two games over .500 when it beat the Milwaukee Bucks on January 6, but they're 9-19 since then and have been nearly eliminated from play-in contention.

Another example happened on Wednesday, when the Rockets were up 20 on the Los Angeles Clippers in Houston before eventually collapsing and losing by six.

Moments like that are all part of the process, though, even when you try to skip steps with players like Brooks and VanVleet. The younger core will better understand how to hold leads next season, because they've experienced losing them.

And the continued ascension of center Alperen Sengun will undoubtedly be one of the reasons they will (or at least should) turn a corner in 2024-25.

This week, he became just the 24th player in NBA history to have a 45-point, five-steal game when he dominated Victor Wembanyama in a win. And then he followed that up with 23 points, 19 rebounds, 14 assists and two steals in the loss to L.A.

Houston already has a bona fide star at center, and if Amen Thompson, Cam Whitmore and Jabari Smith Jr. catch up a bit, the Rockets are going to be exciting next season.