Slowly, but surely, we’re getting closer to tip-off. Check your calendar and you’ll see we’re less than two months away from Houston Rockets basketball returning. That being said, we are still in the idle time to sit and ponder about what next season beholds.

During this dead zone of NBA happenings, I’ve guesstimated what next year could look like for the team and so I’ll share that with you all. Here are four predictions for next season.

The Rockets go 3-1 in the In-Season Tournament, but don’t advance due to a tiebreaker

Those damn tiebreakers, huh? Nevertheless, expect to see a hungry team throughout the season, but also early on, in somewhat meaningful basketball games. I defaulted to picking the Minnesota Timberwolves as the Rockets’ one group play loss because that’s the only team, I can say without a doubt, is better than them. Ultimately, I think the Rockets look impressive during the tournament, but another team from a different group edges them on point differential for the wildcard spot.

The Rockets don’t make a major trade during the season

I’m not ruling out the Rockets making any transactions this season, I just don’t believe it will be one of the magnitude you may be expecting. Moves will certainly be made, but don’t bet on someone of a high caliber to make their way into town during the trade deadline.

If anything, Houston is best served evaluating who the keepers are going forward and seeking out a blockbuster deal next summer. Again, it’s what the market is dictating, and with no known stars asking out, the team should have the grace to not rush into a three-for-one deal.

The Rockets will not have a representative in the 2024-25 All-Star game

Let’s face the facts. The Western Conference is just too stacked with talent for there to be a realistic chance for one of our guys to make it (this year). Fred VanVleet is the lone former All-Star on the roster, and although Alperen Sengun made a compelling case for consideration last season, it’s going to require a massive leap in team success and eye-popping numbers from him to break through this upcoming year.

In my estimation, Sengun or Jalen Green could satisfy voters with a five-to-six-point uptick in scoring, combined with the Rockets taking a colossal step towards the front of the conference, but that is asking for a lot. If the Rockets happened to be in the East, we may be having a different conversation. It just so happens to be that talent often migrates West.

Consider the depth of starpower between LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Steph Curry, Kawhi Leonard, Luka Doncic, Anthony Edwards, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokic and Ja Morant, they’re presumably strolling into an All-Star bid. The window for any newcomers shuts down expeditiously.

Even if and when injuries come into play, there’s still a second wave of established players that will garner voter’s attention. Kyrie Irving, Domantis Sabonis, De’Aaron Fox, Karl Towns, Rudy Gobert, Zion Williamson, Lauri Markkanen and now, DeMar DeRozan, are waiting in the wings. That’s before we even get to the new guard, that will pit players such as Sengun and Green up against Victor Wembanyama, Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams and more.

It’s a testament to the amount of talent in the league, but it makes for a good reason to expand the roster beyond 12 players. You would think it would incentivize some players to go east.

The Rockets make the Play-in Tournament as the ninth seed

The good news is that the Rockets live to see game 83. The bad news is that they must take their lumps, therefore, I think they lose to a much more experienced team. This would be improvement from last year as I still think Houston’s win total will go up from 41 in 2023-24. Unfortunately — or fortunately depending on how you view it — due to an extremely packed race out west, Houston ends up in this win or go home situation.

I’m encouraged by the Rockets prospects of making the play-ins, I’m just hazy on how long that run will last. I figure we will likely have to overcome either one of LeBron, Steph or KD in that situation. I’m still living off an Olympics high. so please spare me for not wanting to side against one of those guys in a high-pressure environment. Not this year at least.

As you can see from all of my predictions, I’m leaning towards the “one year away” camp. How about you all?