Reasons for optimism for every NBA team, part II

After a relatively raucous transaction period and the NBA’s recent schedule release for the 2024-25 season, how could fans not be excited about tip-off? We’ve got storylines galore, a ton of parity (in the West, at least), and so many new questions to answer.

I’m looking at reasons for every team’s fans to be optimistic about the coming year. Part I is here; Part III is coming soon.

Houston Rockets

Establishing a pecking order

It’s a good time to be a Rockets fan. The team was competitive last season and still nabbed Summer League’s most impressive rookie, Reed Sheppard. Few teams outside Oklahoma boast a more robust collection of young players, established vets, and draft picks.

In some ways, the Rockets are like the funhouse version of the Detroit Pistons, except farther along in their journey. Like Detroit, they’re chock-full of young talent. Like Detroit, the fit of those players isn’t quite clear yet. The team needs to make an objective evaluation next offseason about Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun, as both players will be up for big-money extensions, but the team also needs to foster the development of promising youngsters like Cam Whitmore, Amen Thompson, Sheppard, Jabari Smith, and Tari Eason. That’s a lot to balance. It’s a good problem, but it’s a problem nonetheless.

If I’m a Rockets fan, I’m most excited to see who emerges from that group as a surefire piece of the future. Establishing that pecking order in the rotation will be the most important part of the season. The Rockets are not patient; they want to be competing for a high seed playoff seed as soon as the 2025-26 season (and if you asked coach Ime Udoka, he’d scoff and say competing is the goal right now and kick me out of the media scrum for asking such a stupid question).

I watched an astonishing number of Rockets games last season, and I suspect I’ll be doing so again.

Indiana Pacers

Nembhard’s playoff performance

Indiana just locked up Andrew Nembhard on a three-year deal for a hair under $60 million. If he plays anything like he did last spring, that’ll be a steal.

Nembhard averaged 15 points and 5.5 assists in 17 playoff games, 15 of which came alongside a hobbled Tyrese Haliburton. He did it while shooting 56% from the field and 48% from deep (albeit on limited volume).

Even more impressively, after Haliburton missed the last two games against Boston, Nembhard put up an efficient 32 points and nine assists and then 24 points and 10 assists while being guarded by Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, and Jaylen Brown, the best defensive backcourt in the NBA, in a pair of tight three-point losses. His herky-jerky, burrowing drives to the hoop were shockingly effective:

Nembhard is a rugged (if foul-prone) defender who looked the part of a solid starter last year, but he ramped up his offensive game at the most crucial times (including 20 points against New York in a Game 7). I can’t wait to see if he can carry that playoff momentum into the 2024-25 season.

Los Angeles Clippers

Beautiful new art

The Clippers will be a decent-to-good team next year, but I’m not here to discuss their talent level.

Instead, the most remarkable thing about the Clippers as they enter their new stadium this season is the sexy new logo. I’ll let the official release do the hard work for me:

Although the “C” surrounding the boat is supposedly designed after compasses and hooks that sailors tie ropes on, I see crosshairs, adding a more threatening element to its design. I like it. (Although, do the crosshairs indicate someone is targeting the boat? Maybe that’s not such a nice touch after all.)

The jerseys and court are sleek, if a bit minimalist for my tastes. The red jerseys have a series of nautical flags along the side, a nifty feature:

I’m not sure the broader population agrees, but I’m all in on this brand reset. “Clippers” is as unusual a name as exists in American professional sports, and I like that the team is leaning into it.

Los Angeles Lakers