The Spurs may be built for another big regular season, but the Rockets have the kind of profile that can make life messy in the West.
Houston didn’t look like a finished product last year, even after winning 52 games. The offense never really settled in, despite having a healthy Kevin Durant alongside Alperen Sengun and Amen Thompson. Then the postseason ended quickly, with a first-round loss to a Luka-less Lakers team while the Rockets were without Durant.
That’s the version of Houston from a year ago. The one heading into next season looks different.
The biggest reason is balance. The Rockets now have the pieces to bother teams on both ends, and that matters against a Spurs group that can already throw a lot at opponents offensively. San Antonio’s guard trio of Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper, and De'Aaron Fox is a major problem, but Houston has the personnel to make that matchup uncomfortable.
Amen Thompson is already one of the league’s most disruptive defenders, the kind of player who can switch across positions and change a possession in a flash. The Rockets also added Marcus Smart, another defender who can get into the ball, bother guards, and create turnovers. On the perimeter, that’s a nasty combination.
Fred VanVleet adds another layer once he’s back healthy after missing all of last season with a torn ACL. Between Thompson, Smart, and VanVleet, Houston’s backcourt defense has the look of something that can really test the Spurs in future meetings.
The frontcourt still brings plenty of resistance too. Houston kept most of its bigs from last season, and that group did a strong job around the rim and on the glass. The Rockets finished 11th in opponents’ points in the paint and seventh in defensive rebounding percentage, two numbers that point to a team that can make opponents work for every clean look.
The offensive side should be the part that changes the most.
VanVleet’s return matters there as well, because he can run the offense, create his own shot, and stretch the floor. Houston also brought in Bogdan Bogdanovic, a career 38% shooter from distance, which gives the group another real weapon from outside.
And then there’s the internal growth. Amen Thompson and Alperen Sengun are both positioned for a jump, with Thompson standing out as the player who could take the biggest step after showing flashes as a do-it-all threat last season.
Houston still may not match San Antonio’s scoring punch, but that’s not really the point. The Rockets look more complete now, less like a team leaning entirely on defense and more like one that can win in different ways.
If they stay healthy, they’ll be a tough out in the Western Conference. And if they end up across from the Spurs in the playoffs, Houston has enough two-way firepower to make that road to the 2027 NBA Finals a lot harder.
In Other News...
Spurs Face A Tough DeMar DeRozan Decision With One Move Left
San Antonio still has one roster spot to work with, and the front office is weighing the kind of veteran addition that could help steady a young group trying to move closer to contention. The Spurs have been tied to a few familiar names in that search, with DeMar DeRozan among the more intriguing possibilities because of what he once meant in silver and black and what he still brings as a proven scorer and locker-room presence.
DeRozans fit is easy to understand on paper, but a reunion does not feel especially likely. His recent run with Sacramento showed he can still provide value, yet the Spurs current direction and team dynamics are different from the version he left behind, which makes this one of those decisions that looks simple from a distance and far more complicated once the details come into view. [Read more 🡒]
Wembanyama Is Chasing The Kind Of Spurs Season That Changes Everything
Victor Wembanyamas rise has already put the Spurs back into the leagues long view, and the next step is the one that changes a franchises entire conversation. After finishing third in MVP voting last season, he is already being treated as a leading candidate for the 2027 award, a sign of how quickly his individual ceiling has caught up to San Antonios broader ambitions. With new talent added around him and a young core that has already logged meaningful experience, the Spurs suddenly look like a team with a real window instead of a rebuild in progress.
The part that makes this season so intriguing is not just whether Wembanyama can collect another trophy for himself, but whether he can do it while lifting the Spurs to the kind of team success that turns great players into legends. Winning MVP and a championship in the same season has been reserved for a tiny group in NBA history, and San Antonio is now close enough to that kind of conversation to make it matter. Wembanyama will still be young enough to make the achievement feel almost unfair, but the bigger question is whether the Spurs can turn promise into the sort of run that leaves no doubt. [Read more 🡒]
Spurs Fans Calling For A Fox Trade Are Missing One Reality
De'Aaron Fox has become the kind of player San Antonio can ill afford to treat casually, even with the noise that followed the Spurs' run to the NBA Finals. The debate around his future has picked up after one costly moment, but the broader picture matters more: when Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle were out, Fox carried a heavier load and kept the offense moving in a way few guards can.
The problem for anyone pushing a trade is that the Spurs do not have an obvious answer waiting behind him, and they are about to be tied to the kind of money that makes deals harder to navigate. If one of the main guards misses time, the fallback options are thin, which is why moving Fox would not just be a roster change. It would force San Antonio to solve a problem it already knows how valuable he is at solving. [Read more 🡒]