The Rockets are ready to move past their rebuild

HOUSTON -- Coming out of the All-Star break, the Houston Rockets knew they weren't going to be in contention for a spot in the NBA play-in tournament. They were 13-45, had lost seven straight games heading into the break, and were two weeks removed from trading disgruntled veteran Eric Gordon -- the team's fourth-leading scorer -- to the LA Clippers.

Still, they held a team meeting to establish a goal for the remainder of the season: to play their best basketball, setting a tone for the seasons to come.

"It gave us something that we can look at as our identity and something to work towards," Rockets guard Jae'Sean Tate told ESPN. "I think that we've done a great job of just focusing on that.…