The Rockets started 2025 by staving off a third consecutive loss with a victory over the depleted Dallas Mavericks. Still, after ending the year with a pair of painful losses, the Rockets enter the new year with absences and some challenging matchups. Last year, January saw the beginning of a slide for them. Can they avoid it this year and improve on what was otherwise a terrifically impressive 2024?
Will Rockets Fall Into Same New Year Trap In 2025?
How The Rockets Started 2024
The Rockets entered 2024 with a .500 record but went 7-10 in January. That was just the beginning, as they went 3-9 in February. The arrival of March Jalen Green was enough to power the team back to .500 (and even three games over) again, but there’s no denying the Rockets dropped the ball to start the year.
All of that was before Alperen Sengun went down with a season-ending injury in March as well. Getting to .500 had been a major achievement for a team coming off the post-James Harden title-contention era. Before head coach Ime Udoka’s arrival, the team had been scrapping by with season win tallies of 17 (shortened 2020-21 season), 20 (2021-22), and 22 (2022-23). In the new year, they took their foot off the gas. The engine stalled, and they started sliding downhill fast.
On the face of it, the Rockets enter 2025 in a much better position. Their record isn’t 15-15, for instance. Instead, it’s 22-11 after their January 1 win. They aren’t competing for a spot in the play-in, but rather a top-two seed. The actual roster is largely the same besides the still working-his-way-back-in Steven Adams and the currently sliding-down-the-bench rookie, Reed Sheppard. But the experience gained from last year has paid dividends for much of that returning roster.
Rockets Absences To Start 2025
Still, there are dangers lurking for the Rockets as they start the new year. One is the availability of key players. Like this time last year, bench terror and early-season standout Tari Eason is currently dealing with an injury. Specifically, he just missed his seventh straight game.
Amen Thompson, Eason’s partner in crime, is also unavailable for the team at present. Fortunately for the Rockets, the reason is not injury-related. Unfortunately for Miami Heat star Tyler Herro, it was for throwing the Jack Harlow muse like a surprisingly lightweight bag of cement mix. Herro had the last laugh with the score on the jumbotron though, not to mention the players’ respective lines on the boxscore, and Thompson’s two-game suspension.
The Rockets got by without either of their bench terrors against a dinged-up Mavericks squad. They’ll have to play without at least Thompson again versus the champion Boston Celtics on Friday. As for when Eason will play again, it’s something of a mystery. The team’s official line is preaching caution. Fans are beginning to project concern.
January Matchups To Look Out For
Despite their significant depth on the wing, featuring strong play by Cam Whitmore, the Rockets will need all the manpower they can muster this month. The Celtics aren’t the only big hitter lurking in the schedule, though they are lurking twice, with the Celtics’ home game in the matchup slated for January 28. The Rockets will also play the Denver Nuggets, the league-leading Cleveland Cavaliers twice, and the Memphis Grizzlies thrice. The Memphis encounters will have particular relevance in the battle for the second seed in the West, and Denver isn’t far behind either.
The Last Word
The Rockets are in a good spot. January will give them plenty of opportunity to test themselves against the league’s best. Last year they had a January slump. This year, they’ll be hoping to keep their momentum right the way through. All-Star berths and favorable first-round playoff matchups are the tantalizing rewards that may await them.
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