Fifty-two wins.

Thirty losses.

Fifth in the Western Conference.

With two crucial injuries and little to no home-court advantage in the playoffs, the Houston Rockets have met their end this season. After falling to the Los Angeles Lakers in the first game of the playoffs on April 18, it is apparent that the Rockets will not make it far in these playoffs. A lack of team motivation, poor outside shooting and a questionable Kevin Durant is not the formula for a championship team.

Wait, an impaired Kevin Durant?

Yes, you heard right. Even though he was warming up hours before their first game, Head Coach Ime Udoka ruled him out with a right knee contusion after he bumped knees with a teammate shortly before tipoff. Out of all games, this had to have been the worst possible timing. I mean, he’s played 78 out of 82 games this season and has had one of his most efficient seasons as a near 40-year-old.

However, this isn’t the first time this team has let me down like this. Watching the Rockets live on March 6 against the Portland Trail Blazers, I knew that our team chemistry wasn’t on point — lazy defense, careless turnovers and reckless play. Although we barely escaped with the win, this game showed why the Rockets are good on paper but not necessarily on the court together.

Tuesday’s Game 2 of the first round against the Lakers on April 21 also confirms this trend. The Rockets rely too heavily on Kevin Durant. Yes, he’s a two-time NBA champion, a two-time Finals MVP and a 16-time NBA All-Star, but he’s one guy. Basketball is a team sport — not an individual one. If we want to have the slightest chance of making a playoff run, we need other players to step up.

The series against the Lakers in general wasn’t the greatest for the Rockets. A lack of defensive motivation doesn’t help when your offense isn’t clicking. Although I was looking forward to the Rockets being the first team in NBA history to come back and win the series after being down 3-0, my hopes were crushed. That’s just what a Houston sports fan regularly goes through all year round.

But one of the main reasons the Rockets aren’t playing as a team is because they’ve been missing a point guard all year long. Veteran point guard Fred VanVleet went out with a torn ACL on Sept. 22 of last year during a preseason workout, effectively missing all of the 2025-26 NBA season, including the playoffs. This alone has cost the Rockets many unnecessary losses.

Think about missing a point guard as equivalent to having a substitute in class. Amen Thompson is that substitute in this case, but he’s just too underdeveloped and young to lead this Rockets team. No hate for Amen Thompson, I really do admire him, but I think we need a true point guard rather than relying on one who is inexperienced and not playing at his natural position. Reed Sheppard is my favorite, but he’s unfortunately still developing and not able to lead a team like the Rockets.

Not only do these disadvantages exist, but the odds are against us, and I completely agree with our very low chances at even touching the NBA Western Conference Finals. According to ESPN, the Rockets have a near 300-1 chance, a 0.33% chance, of winning the championship. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather root for the San Antonio Spurs at this point. These odds are fair, and it doesn’t seem like they are going to get any better.

Speaking of the Spurs, if the Rockets do somehow manage to take the series against the Lakers, they are no match for the Spurs and their rising superstar Victor Wembanyama. Although Wembanyama did suffer a concussion in Game 2 against the Trail Blazers, the Spurs are still a great, consistent team all around in much better shape to make the finals than the Rockets are. Additionally, the Oklahoma City Thunder are on another level of greatness. They are by far the favorites in winning this year’s NBA championship.

On top of that, the Rockets are ranked in the latter half of the entire NBA in points scored per game and assists per game. This team is lacking some serious offense. Now, before I hear the old heads come and say that defense wins championships, the game of basketball today is heavily focused on offensive schemes, big men in the paint and three-point shooting. Only 115 points per game is not going to cut it in the playoffs. The offense of this team is just horrendous. Relying on Durant solely isn’t a game-winning strategy, and they are wasting a potentially great championship-winning team. Not only that, but this team hates running plays — one of the main reasons they are ranked 21st in assists per game. Not only are they unmotivated, but they don’t want to win and don’t know how to play basketball as a team.

I hate to say it, but in reality, the Rockets aren’t winning the chip this year. And to be honest, our head coach is part of this problem. Ime Udoka, throughout this entire season, has used some questionable lineups in games that they desperately need to win. He has made barely any changes and keeps running lineups consisting primarily of Reed Sheppard, Amen Thompson, Kevin Durant, Jabari Smith Jr. and Alperen Sengun, which are one of the worst defensive ratings.

As a die-hard Rockets fan, I’ve been crushed more than I can express this season, and I never expected that we would even make a playoff run this year. I was even surprised to see them make the playoffs in the first place with how this team was playing earlier in the season. Hopefully this all ends quickly so I stop having a midlife crisis over their games every other night. For now, let’s just enjoy having Kevin Durant on our team and watching arguably the purest scorer of all time play for the Rockets.