With February coming to a conclusion, March is right around the corner. For college basketball players, it’s the home stretch leading into the postseason of conference tournaments and the NCAA Tournament.
From an NBA perspective, how prospects perform under the bright lights is often a key variable when it comes to projecting their likely upside at the highest level. Thus, for teams with significant draft assets in a given year, “March Madness” is a crucial period for evaluations.
In 2022, one of those teams with major stakes in the upcoming NBA draft is clearly the Houston Rockets. Not only have the Rockets (15-43) held the league’s third-worst record for most of the 2021-22 season, but they also have a second first-round pick headed their way from Brooklyn — and it could be better than expected, since the Nets (31-28) entered the All-Star break with 12 losses in their last 14 games.
It’s possible that Brooklyn’s pick could even end up in the lottery, since the Nets are currently in a spot where they have to make it through the Eastern Conference’s play-in tournament just to make the playoffs.
Given the NBA’s week-long hiatus and frozen standings, a new wave of mock drafts has emerged in recent days. Within those, here’s a look at the latest pick odds and who the experts are projecting the Rockets to select with both their own pick and that of the Nets. Prospect descriptions and analysis can be found at the corresponding mock draft links.
Draft lottery odds, if Rockets finish with third-worst record
No. 1: 14.0%
No. 2: 13.4%
No. 3: 12.7%
No. 4: 12.0%
No. 5: 14.8%
No. 6: 26.0%
No. 7: 7.0%
(pick odds via Tankathon)
Draft lottery odds, if Nets have best record among non-playoff teams
No. 1: 0.5%
No. 2: 0.6%
No. 3: 0.6%
No. 4: 0.7%
No. 14: 97.6%
(pick odds via Tankathon)
Projections for Houston’s own 2022 first-round pick
Photo by Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
Krysten Peek, Yahoo Sports (2/21), No. 3 overall: Paolo Banchero
(Duke: Big, Freshman, 6-10)
Sam Vecenie, The Athletic (2/17), No. 3: Jaden Ivey
(Purdue: Guard, Sophomore, 6-4)
Chad Ford, NBA Big Board (2/17), No. 3: Chet Holmgren
(Gonzaga: Big, Freshman, 7-1)
Jonathan Wasserman, Bleacher Report (2/16), No. 3: Jaden Ivey
(Purdue: Guard, Sophomore, 6-4)
Bryan Kalbrosky, For the Win (2/16), No. 3: Paolo Banchero
(Duke: Big, Freshman, 6-10)
Projections for Houston’s 2022 first-round pick via Brooklyn
Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images
Krysten Peek, Yahoo Sports (2/21), No. 16 overall: Blake Wesley
(Notre Dame: Guard, Freshman, 6-5)
Sam Vecenie, The Athletic (2/17), No. 16: MarJon Beauchamp
(G League Ignite: Wing, 21 years old, 6-7)
Rafael Barlowe, NBA Big Board (2/16), No. 16: Nikola Jovic
(Mega Bemax, Serbia: Wing, 18 years old, 6-10)
Jonathan Wasserman, Bleacher Report (2/16), No. 16: Walker Kessler
(Auburn: Big, Sophomore, 7-1)
Bryan Kalbrosky, For the Win (2/16), No. 16: Jaden Hardy
(G League Ignite: Guard, 19 years old, 6-4)
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