How each 2023-24 Rockets player performed as franchise rebuild continues

The Rockets were good enough to hunger to be better.

They improved. They showed promise. Perhaps most important, they put down a foundation upon which they can build. But they also fell short of their goal to go from the bottom of the standings to play-in status.

That might have been too much to expect, especially when the Hall of Fame-bound Warriors took the final play-in spot. But when evaluating the Rockets’ season and roster, strides and success bumped up to the improvement still needed.

The Rockets were far better than in the rebuilding seasons, with more wins at 41-41 than in any two of the previous three seasons combined. But the gulf between what they were and what they want — and expect — to be remained clear.

ROCKETS INSIDER: 2023-24 season a mixed bag of optimism, disappointment

With that, a look at the Rockets’ roster as they head into the offseason:

Jalen Green

Key stats: 19.6 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 42.3 FG%

Evaluation: Green’s sensational March again displayed his potential to fulfill the promise that made him the second pick of the 2021 draft and the first addition of the Rockets rebuild. It was most remarkable because of what a significant turnaround it was from months of shooting issues that made it easy to question if he’d ever be a reliable and efficient go-to scorer.

Those issues obscured improvement in most other ways. He became a more determined defender, a more effective rebounder and most of all, a more polished decision-maker with the ball. He seemed even more explosively athletic when he became more under control. He improved his weaknesses, but still must get better at his presumed strengths. He clearly showed that is still possible, but also that he remains a work in progress to fulfill his potential.

Alperen Şengün

Key stats: 21.1 ppg, 9.3 rpg, 5 apg.

Evaluation: Şengün was sensational as he assumed a greater offensive role in a true breakthrough season until his season-ending injury March 10 in Sacramento. He became an offensive focal point able to consistently lead the offense, one of six NBA players to average 21 points, nine rebounds and five assists. He dominated some matchups, as with his consecutive games against Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs and against the Clippers. He also was an effective ball mover when double-teamed.

Şengün began the season bringing greater effort and effectiveness on the defensive end. Though that was not a strength of the Rockets’ defense, the Rockets defended well early in the season when Şengün was at his best defensively. That tapered off in the middle of the season, perhaps with the offensive workload catching up to him. His conditioning was greatly improved from his rookie season but can still get better. The more Şengün’s shooting range develops, the greater the spacing would be for the Rockets’ ballhandlers, while he would become an even greater matchup problem.

Jabari Smith Jr.

Key stats: 13.7 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 36.3 3P%

Evaluation: An argument can be made that Smith’s improvement rivaled Şengün’s, even with Şengün a candidate for the Most Improved Player award before his injury. Smith’s shooting rose from 40.8% with 30.7% 3-point shooting as a rookie to 45.4% and 36.3% in his second season, the most obvious sign of his growth.

He made significant strides defensively, with his ability to switch and defend perimeter players an important part of the Rockets’ defense. He became more of a weapon when opposing teams switch, moving inside and using his length to shoot over smaller defenders. Most of all, his recognition on the floor became much greater than when he was mistake prone as a rookie.

He still can have a tendency to disappear in the offense. As with last offseason, he would benefit from gaining greater strength, especially if he will continue to play as a center, as he did after Şengün’s injury.

Fred VanVleet

Key stats: 17.4 ppg, 8.1 apg, 1.7 turnovers per game.

Evaluation: VanVleet was just what the Rockets hoped when they signed him to a three-year, $128.5 million contract. He more than steadied the Rockets’ previously rudderless offense, he shot well and was effective as a playmaker or off the ball with others initiating the offense, a significant reason the Rockets sought him as a free agent.

He helped set a tone defensively and was a vocal and frequent leader. He averaged a career high in assists, a low in turnovers in his five seasons as a starter. His effective field goal percentage was the best of his career, but his scoring was down from his previous four seasons as a starter.

Dillon Brooks

Key stats: 12.7 ppg, 35.9 3P%

Evaluation: Brooks brought the defensive toughness and tenacity that became the Rockets’ style. He needed to adjust to the Rockets’ switching style, preferring to lock in on one assignment. That at times took him away from his strength defensively, but his ability to match up with top scorers from centers to shooters was key to some of the Rockets’ best defensive games and wins. He shot considerably less often than in Memphis, attempting just 10.7 shots per game, his fewest since his second season when he played just 18 games off the bench. But he was more efficient with the best effective field goal percentage of his seven NBA seasons.

Amen Thompson

Key stats: 9.5 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 53.6 FG%

Evaluation: Thompson was a revelation. The Rockets were consistently winning his minutes when he came off the bench. More remarkably, that held true when he moved into the starting lineup through the final nine games of the Rockets’ 11-game winning streak. His point-of-attack defense might already be considered elite. His ability to play as a screener rolling to the rim or in the dunker’s spot was similar to a Clint Capela style and a complete departure for a player that had always been a point guard. His rebounding was sensational, leading the Rockets since he moved into the starting lineup.

Thompson’s future could still be at the point, with Thompson showing those skills and vision most often when he leads a break off his own rebound. The best thing about his 3-point shot is that he rarely takes it. He might have already improved taking jumpers over defenders in the lane but will need to develop some range shooting to fully realize his potential.

Cam Whitmore

Key stats: 12.3 ppg, 45.4 FG%

Evaluation: After an apprenticeship in the G League, Whitmore showed his remarkable athleticism and shot-making potential, giving the Rockets another much-needed range shooter. His shooting tapered off after a remarkable start, especially since coming back from his March 10 knee injury, but at just 19 years old, he appears likely to be an instant-offense player. He joined Freeman Williams in the 1981-82 season as the only players to have averaged 12 points in 19 minutes or fewer (while playing at least 25 games).

Though prone to rookie mistakes, Whitmore could be a competitive defender with outstanding strength in a variety of matchups. He rarely passed, with just one game all season with more than one assist until getting four assists in consecutive games in the season’s final week followed by five in the season finale.

Jeff Green

Key stats: 6.5 ppg, 45.6 FG%, 16.8 mpg

Evaluation: Though one of the oldest players in the league, Green has seemed to have lost little if any of his athleticism. That served him well playing off the bench with the Rockets’ young reserves. He was valuable as a floor-spacing center when Jock Landale struggled early in the season and then as a four, taking on tough defensive assignments. Though he lived up to his Uncle Jeff nickname as a leader and influence, he played fewer minutes and averaged fewer points than in any of his 15 seasons.

Jock Landale

Key stats: 4.9 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 13.6 mpg

Evaluation: After a dreadful few months to start the season, coming off an offseason ankle injury and then a concussion, Landale turned things around beginning in late February and through the Rockets’ surge in March. He showed why the Rockets added him to their mix at center with high-energy play, though he was always going to be a role player, setting screens and doing what he described as “dirty work.”

Aaron Holiday

Key stats: 6.6 ppg, 38.7 3P%

Evaluation: Holiday began the season out of the rotation and slipped out of the rotation in the final week but was too reliable a contributor to exclude. He matched up well with point guards but is more of a scorer than playmaker. He matched VanVleet for the best 3-point shooting percentage of the Rockets’ regulars.

Tari Eason

Key stats: 22 games played, 36 3P%, 7 rpg

Evaluation: A leg injury suffered in the first preseason game eventually needed season-ending surgery after repeated rehab efforts could not give him a lasting solution. Eason played remarkably well while limited, remaining disruptive defensively and productive offensively without play calls for him.

Jae’Sean Tate

Key stats: 4.1 ppg, 3 rpg, 15.9 mpg

Evaluation: Tate remained a strong defensive player able to make hustle plays, but when the Rockets had other options to provide that and also give more scoring and shooting, he fell out of the rotation in mid-season.

Reggie Bullock Jr.

Key stats: 40.3 3P%

Evaluation: Out of the rotation most of the season, Bullock shot well, making 40.3% of his 3s, but remained behind the rookies and Holiday.

Two-way contracts

Nate Williams, Jermaine Samuels Jr., Nate Hinton

Evaluation: None of the Rockets’ players on two-way contracts received regular playing time when called up to the NBA.

Boban Marjanovic

Key stats: 13 points, 8 rebounds in season finale.

Evaluation: Though Marjanovic has offensive skills to go with his enormous size, his job was to be a great teammate. He excelled in that role.