The Finder With Tom Haberstroh

The Finder With Tom Haberstroh

⭐️ The Rockets' most important man - Tom's Title Tiers #14

Steven Adams was carried off the floor on Sunday with an ankle injury. Uh oh.

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Tom Haberstroh
Jan 19, 2026
∙ Paid
(Photo by Tom Hauck/Getty Images)

The Houston Rockets’ nightmare injury season continues: Steven Adams had to be carried off the floor after a nasty ankle turn on Sunday. If the Kiwi big man needs to miss significant time … Houston, we have a problem.

Welcome to another edition of Tom’s Title Tiers! A reminder: This is my subjective list based largely on objective data. This is not a pure, analytical ranking. You’re here because you want to know what I think, to get inside my brain a little bit. Consider this a weekly report of what I see on film; what I glean from the numbers; what I hear on the phone; what I read in the news; what I feel.

This week’s featured squad: the Houston Rockets.

A reminder that teams are listed within each tier in alphabetical order, not in order of strength. Here’s a quick rundown of each tier:

Tom’s Title Tiers

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This is a complete team, no notes.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Just missing that one thing.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ One move away from being one move away.
⭐️⭐️ So much has to break right.
⭐️ Sooo you’re saying there’s a chance.

Are the Rockets still a four-star contender? What do I do with the sputtering New York Knicks?

Let’s get to it.


⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is a complete team, no notes. 

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