Houston Rockets
New Year's Resolution: Identify the foundational parts of their young core
The Houston Rockets have been one of the bigger surprises in the Western Conference this season. They continue to be one of the most consistent teams in the conference and are currently still ranked as a top 3 team. What's been most impressive about this team to start the season is their young core. More than anything, that's the biggest reason why the Rockets have managed to emerge as one of the best teams in the league. Moving forward, the Rockets must identify which parts of this young core are considered foundational cornerstones.
That should be considered the New Year's resolution for Houston heading into the new calendar year. What young pieces on the roster are absolutely off-limits and which of them could be packaged to make a move for veterans or a star player that could help this team take another step forward in the coming years? If the Rockets want to continue to climb up the Western Conference hierarchy, this is probably the way forward.
Indiana Pacers
New Year's Resolution: Build off a strong end to 2024
It hasn't been an ideal first two months of the regular season for the Indiana Pacers. However, there is some hope that perhaps the team is beginning to find their footing. Before closing out the year with back-to-back games against the Boston Celtics, the Pacers had won six of their last eight games. Considering how inconsistent the Pacers had been for the better part of the start of the regular season, that was a great streak for the team. If the Pacers are going to climb out of their early-season hole, this is a team that is going to have to find ways to build off that short success.
Heading into the new year, this team's biggest goal should be to carry that small momentum into the 2025 calendar year. Whether they'll be able to successfully do that remains to be seen but that's, without question, the New Year's resolution for the team. Indiana is all-in with this core. After signing both Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam, this is the duo that is supposed to take them to new heights as a franchise. During the second half of this season, the hope is that there will be more signs of that happening.