No more playing! Season officially over! Another key Rockets player is down.

Famous for their loaded talent, the Rockets managed just 13 points in the last quarter, whereas the exceptionally talented Wembanyama scored 13 points, grabbed 9 boards, and blocked 3 shots by himself, ultimately guiding the Spurs to a 111-99 away win.

The Spurs' statistics are as follows:

The Rockets' statistics are as follows:

Without Adams, the Rockets really couldn’t stay strong; when facing elite inside players, they easily crumbled. Adams has already had surgery on his left ankle and is out for the remainder of the season.

As the strongest man in today’s NBA, Adams’ rim protection, rebounding, and experience are crucial. This season, he played 32 games with 11 starts, averaging 22.8 minutes to produce 5.8 points, 8.6 rebounds (4.5 offensive boards, third in the league), 1.5 assists, with a defensive rating of 104.3 ranking 19th in the league. His offensive rebound rate of 20.5% ranks second in the entire NBA.

Notably, in the five games Adams missed, the Rockets’ bench scoring plummeted to a league-low 24 points per game, with the 2024 third overall pick Shepard averaging 13.2 points and the rest of the bench combining for just 10.8 points per game.

When it comes to the playoffs, where intense physical defense and scrappy battles are key, the Rockets will miss Adams even more. Last postseason, he averaged 22.1 minutes, contributing 5.7 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks per game, including 3.3 offensive rebounds.

Before the season started, the Rockets’ backcourt leader VanVleet tore his ACL and might be out for the year; midseason, Adams’ ankle injury ended his campaign... Losing two major players in succession, the Rockets might end up empty-handed again this year unless they make moves in the upcoming trade market.

So far,the Rockets hold a 28-17 record, ranking fourth in the Western Conference, just one game ahead of Durant’s former team, the Suns (28-19).They face the risk of slipping into the play-in tournament zone.

If they can’t even secure a direct playoff spot, how can they talk about winning a championship? Trying to run before learning to walk is obviously unrealistic.

Fortunately, last summer the Rockets reached an early contract extension with Durant, the 37-year-old veteran superstar, locking him in through the 27-28 season. This means their partnership doesn’t need immediate success, as the championship window still has two to three years left.