What's the bar for success for the Rockets 2023-24 Season (Start of Phase 2)

Not sure you can gauge success with only one metric.
30 wins would be an improvement, but for me, still a bad season.
40 would definitely do it, but seems like a stretch.

For 2023/24, development, roster balancing and picking up the right FA's means more to me than just the wins.

 

It's really hard to answer this question without knowing what the roster looks like. I think asking this again in a month, we'll have a better idea. Regardless of what happens with the draft and free agency, there needs to be an expectation of significant improvement. But there's a big difference between 30 and 40 wins. For me, it's probably somewhere in the middle—I'd like to see at least low- to- mid-30s.

I think success will vary a lot based on the personnel, though, and I think more wins doesn't necessarily mean a more successful season. For example, if you add Harden and you win 40+ games and make the play-in, but you see regression in some of the young guys, that's a way less successful season to me than if they don't add any star veterans, win only 33-34 games, but we see noted improvement in Green, Sengun and Bari.

Success for me looks like consistency and development of the young core. If they're more competitive, playing more consistent basketball and winning more games, I don't need them to make the play-in tournament next season for it to be a success in my eyes.

 

33-35

Wouldn't call it success but a nice step forward and it has to be without Harden bc that man is a cheat code and waiting to be wanting out at any moment.

 

35-47; one more win than what Orlando did last year. I think that represents significant improvement and it’s realistic. Folks have to remember, we still don’t have a very good roster. Maybe that changes this offseason, but it take two to make a trade and this free agent class is underwhelming. Stone still has to prove he can actually put together a decent roster. If we won 35 games next year, with real development and growth from our core, finishing strong to end the season, I’d have a hard time saying that’s a failure. It shows we are an ascendant young team, like what Orlando did this past season.

 

Needs to be a 40+ win year and contending for a play-in spot regardless of who is on the roster. Ideally, it's a roster without Harden.

I'll take CP with the MLE to run point and play the "on court coach". But no way he comes here.

 

40?! LOL

 

The bar entirely depends on who the FA acquisitions are. and in the event they keep the shitty 4th pick who they end up drafting.

If it ends up being another shitty summer offseason, the bar remains extremely low.

 

Have no clue untill the draft is complete and sign some FAs

 

35 wins.

Thats a 13 win improvement and should have us on the fringe of the play-in. That should be the expectation, with anything more being a bonus and anything less being a failure.

 

Hard to answer without the lineup, but I view the OKC trade is a sunk cost. That doesn’t mean we should continue to “tank” (because that would be pointless) but we have to be prepared to hand OKC a decent pick.

 

Right? The question was How many wins will it take for Stone to keep his job?

Not "How many wins will the Rockets get next year, according to your silly fantasies and/or feverish wet dreams?"

 

If Harden come here it better be at leaat 40. We ain't spending that much money on the dude for a losing season. And it would be Harden's first career losing season.

But if we don't get Harden then 35 wins would be great.

 

Winning 15 more games is the bar if we really do add the vets we intend to.

 

If Green and Sengun are what we think they are, then the third year jump of two is going to add probably 5-10 wins by itself. That's if they are who we think they are.

We are going to learn a lot of things by the end of next season. A lot of people will be eating crow one way or another.

 

if they don’t at least make the play-in, it’s a colossal failure

if Jalen Green is still just as inefficient in year 3 as he was in year 2, it’s a massive disappointment

if Jabari is still bricking at an alarming rate, it will be very frustrating

 

I can accept them missing the play in if the improvement this season is purely from internal growth of young guys rather than adding high level vets. If we jump to 34 wins from sheer internal development of Green, Sengun, Bari and Tari and barely missing the play in, I still see that as not a failure.

It is a failure if we add someone of the level of Harden or Brown and still miss the play in. That's when it becomes a failure.

But missing the play in but improving 10+ games through pure internal growth and coaching improvements is a success to me.

 

The goal should be "a better record than OKC"

That goal could potentially change by the end of the off-season, but with back to back to back top of the lotto picks, a proven coach on board and, and almost 65M in cap space available, there has never been a better time to try and improve drastically.

A heap of things could change that goal.

 

Without even knowing how the roster ends up shaking out I find it very unlikely that the results of this season will end up costing Stone his job.