Entering Friday, the Rockets have won two straight games and four of their last seven, overall. That clearly represents at least some progress for a young and rebuilding group that has spent much of the 2022-23 season with the NBA’s worst record.

But, there have been some fortunate circumstances to this recent run of form. For example, two wins came versus the Spurs, who are also among the league’s worst teams — and they happened to be resting multiple players in both. Another win came against the Lakers on night two of a road back-to-back, when LeBron James was out due to injury and Anthony Davis was held out for maintenance.

So, how much of this uptick in performance is true improvement? Friday’s podcast explains why the growth by Jabari Smith Jr. and Kevin Porter Jr., in particular, could be of real significance.

The show also explores whether embattled head coach Stephen Silas, who reportedly doesn’t have any guaranteed money owed to him after this season, could save his job over the season’s final 12 games.