At the NBA’s All-Star break for its 2022-23 season, the numbers aren’t pretty for the young and rebuilding Houston Rockets.
Their 13-45 record is the worst in the NBA, as is Houston’s offensive rating (110.0). Their defensive rating (118.4) ranks 28th among the league’s 30 teams, and their net rating (-8.4) is No. 29.
Head coach Stephen Silas is in the final fully guaranteed season of his current contract, and questions have been raised whether he will be offered a second deal. Many fans have raised questions regarding general manager Rafael Stone as well.
Yet, it’s not as if the franchise is hopeless. For starters, they will have another high pick in what should be a strong 2023 NBA draft class, and they’re positioned to have the most salary cap space this offseason (up to $60 million, approximately) of any NBA team. That could help them attract marquee veterans, such as James Harden.
In addition, while the sum of the parts clearly hasn’t amounted to much this season — particularly given a void of veterans — there are some individual bright spots among the young prospects.
Among players averaging at least 10 minutes per game, here’s our individual grades. These grades are relative to expectations entering the season, i.e. a high grade for a bench player doesn’t necessarily mean that he’s outplayed a high-profile starter with a worse grade. It’s all relative to where each player began the 2022-23 campaign.
This list is sorted by total minutes, from most to least.