Rockets season in review...

[KW]

Inconsistent, streaky, and rocky are three words that come to mind when describing the Rockets 2030-31 season. The 50-32 record and tying for the 2nd-4th seeds in the West might indicate a better season, but things have been... brewing... for a large chunk of the season

Starting with the underwhelming 9-12 first quarter of the season, rumors of Malik Monk getting restless in Houston started to swirl, as well as reports that first-time head coach June Brewer was in over her head, managing egos and that she did not have the respect of everyone on the team.

A streak where the Rockets won 22 out of 27, temporarily put all the turmoil to bed. Until midseason injuries to Kaiser Gates and Cam Reddish, caused a few losing streak, including losing 7 out of 8 in late February. It was during this stretch where star Malik Monk starting requesting an offseason trade. While he never quite mailed it in, his fluctuation in effort was apparent, and caused quite a bit of friction.

But as professionals do, Monk and the rest of the Rockets closed strong, going 12-3 over the last month of the season, and things looked as good as they have all season. Paired with the Warriors in Round 1, the team that knocked them out in the WCF a year ago, there was the expectation of revenge with a fully healthy roster.

That did not happen. At all. After a strong game 1, the Rockets just never found their spark the rest of the series. Monk shot terribly in 4 of the 6 games, Walker was clearly in his own head after a scoreless game 1, and shot just 34% from the field in the series (7.7% from 3). Nobody with any volume of shots but Eric Paschall shot better than their regular season TS%, and the remarkable defense that showed all season long was nowhere to be found.



What's next for the Rockets? Well they face a crossroads with their franchise scorer, for one. Intel suggests that the Rockets are more willing to accommodate Malik Monk's trade requests than they were after being blindsided at the deadline... with the intention of a new look. 10 seasons in, multiple iterations of this team have failed to reach the finals despite expectations, and the focus may shift towards finding players that fit the versatile, almost position-less play of wings Kaiser Gates, Cam Reddish, MJ Walker, Eric Paschall, with the hope of being able to rely a bit more on the potential paint dominance of young bigs Kenny Lofton and possibly Nathan Knight, who found themselves out of the playoff rotation, and are currently embarking on a Finals run in the D-League.

The options are wide open. They could very easily tell Malik Monk to suck it up, since he's under contract for four more seasons after this one, they could look to move him for a similarly talented player with a different skillset, or they could look to break him down a bit for a couple draft picks or younger talents and try to go into next season playing selfless, position-less basketball with no true #1 option. All three options appeal to Rockets general manager KW, as well as coach Brewer.



If this is the end of Malik Monk's career in Houston, it might be a little bitter but there will be plenty of respect to go around. There is no doubt he's the last player to wear the #1 jersey for the franchise. In 10 seasons, Monk has never missed the playoffs with the Rockets, has made the WCFs twice, and the 2nd round three additional times, but detractors will look at the 5 first-round exits and point in his direction, not for nothing.

But playoff shortcomings aside, Monk, still 28, has already staked his claim as the most prolific 3-point shooter the CSL has ever seen, having notched his 8th consecutive 400-three-pointer season, a career true shooting percentage of 64.2 TS% to rival the most efficient to ever lace them up... with several years left in the tank. Goodbye will not be easy, if it even happens at all, as the Rockets front office is full of notorious 3-point shooting enthusiasts.

[mgtr81]

It's a bit ironic that two of the best players from that class, who have spent their whole careers with the same team, are traded in the same offseason.

As for the team, a first round exit is not necessarily a sign of weakness. The playoffs are all about matchups, so if you meet a team in the first round who you don't match up well against, then your playoffs are probably over, but you may have a better team overall than other teams advancing.

[blackice]

It's a bit ironic that two of the best players from that class, who have spent their whole careers with the same team, are traded in the same offseason.

As for the team, a first round exit is not necessarily a sign of weakness. The playoffs are all about matchups, so if you meet a team in the first round who you don't match up well against, then your playoffs are probably over, but you may have a better team overall than other teams advancing.

I agree, I don't think Myles Turner is a starting caliber centre on a championship team and the problem with your setup imo is you have Monk w/ a huge USG%, and Gates is a very small player if you have him at PF. Without interior defense, and just having scoring and shooting on the perimeter I don't think this is the formula for success. Your perimeter defense is fine, but you are going to get crushed on the boards against good teams.

[drumr]

It's a bit ironic that two of the best players from that class, who have spent their whole careers with the same team, are traded in the same offseason.

As for the team, a first round exit is not necessarily a sign of weakness. The playoffs are all about matchups, so if you meet a team in the first round who you don't match up well against, then your playoffs are probably over, but you may have a better team overall than other teams advancing.

Well said.

[GreenBear]

With the West so wide open this year, I was surprised you guys didn't upgrade the center position. Turner isn't bad, but he's probably not a starting center on a contender at this point in his career. I'm sure you did look into it though. I have no idea what GMs were asking for in return. And I know you have Lofton and Moneke seasoning. But I have no doubt a legit center would've taken this team to another level given the rest of the stacked roster.

The talent is certainly abundant in Houston, and I'm really curious to see what the team looks like next year (with or without Monk).

[Ramcus]

I'd be disappointed to not see Monk spend his entire career in Houston, but I'd definitely understand if you choose to move on from him. That being said, I feel as if Monk's struggles in the last couple seasons have been a product of the engine, rather than an accurate representation of his actual abilities. If the engine we used placed a heavier emphasis on off-the-dribble shot creators, Monk wouldn't be as streaky as he is now.

I like Malik Monk, he's about to enter his 10th season in the league. I hope it'll be his 10th season with the same team as well. Maybe he's struggling because he's playing point guard on a team without a true floor general. Who knows, I certainly don't.

[Flaming Homer]

I also would be still shocked to see Monk in another uniform. He just IS a Rocket.
But I personally never saw him as this #1 option. This live with the 3, die by the 3 is just a bit to unpredictable for me. I always thought the duo with KAT would be perfect but KAT also seems not alpha enough.

But looking in the future, I think the future for the Rockets will be MJ Walker. His rookie boost really open the way to a whole new level. And he may be struggling a little right now, but that seems common for a lot of young players in this engine.
Playing Monk, Reddish and Gates as supporting player, would give this team many more years to compete.
There is enough talent left to also acquire some needed front court depth.

[bt]

I still think you guys are a scary proposition for all of us even with a 1st round exit.

If you do decide to keep Monk, like someone may have mentioned above, you probably need to take a look at trading some younger guys for immediate Monk help else building around them without Monk is a good option too but could take you down our path where it's a decent step back to hopefully be better in the long run.

[andrei]

I think Monk is part of what Houston is. Unless you are going to change your philosophy completely, he is just a perfect fit to a team that shoots threes and defends like crazy.

[blackice]

I could see moving Monk for a franchise level big and then running the offense through MJ Walker, then move Gates to SF.

So: Walker/Reddish/Gates/Mika/Franchise C.

This is a much more balanced team, and you don't necessarily have to gut your team. Use your 1st on a guy like Kobe Brown if he falls due to his age, or the BPA regardless of position.