21 games into the NBA season and the Houston Rockets are having their best start since 2017. A lot has changed since the Rockets were tearing through the league in Chris Paul’s first year with the team. This team is not built as an offensive juggernaut full of savvy veterans and a scoring machine like James Harden. Instead, they don’t even have a designated star player, and most core players are still 22 and under. They are young but they are figuring it out. Houston continues to shatter everyone’s expectations by sticking to what works.
Defense wins games
After 3 straight seasons in the bottom of the Western Conference, the team showed signs of life last season. They won 19 more games which was the best win improvement in the league. All thanks to their effort on the defensive side of the floor. Houston’s improved play has carried over to this season. At the end of last season, the Rockets finished with the 10th-best defensive rating. This year they have the second-best defensive rating with only the Oklahoma City Thunder ahead of them. It’s not just the starters either, the “Terror Twins” Tari Eason and Amen Thompson are terrorizing players off the bench. The effort on defense is paying off in their win column.
Doing it by committee
Even though the roster is full of young players they are playing above their experience. Houston’s best players are Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun with neither of them designated as the team’s star. Before the season started there was plenty of buzz that the Rockets would only keep one of them. They extended both and it’s easy to see how that was the right decision. Egos could’ve gotten in the way of team success, but Jabari Smith credits the Rocket’s rise to “Everyone growing up”. Houston has a lot of talented players with 7 currently averaging double figures in points. Talent will only get you so far and leadership is essential for players to buy in. Fred VanVleet’s and Dillon Brooks’s buy-in has helped keep everyone in line with what the coaching staff asks from them.
No nonsense coaching
By this point, it should be obvious that Ime Udoka is one hell of a coach. After his exit from Boston, it was reasonable to question if he could develop a young roster. We didn’t have to wait long for the answer, he can, and it didn’t take long. Houston immediately improved in his first season and is now competing at the top of the Western Conference. His approach is simple, “don’t skip steps, youth is not an excuse”. He expects the young players to perform like NBA veterans regardless of their years in the league. Following his former coach Gregg Popovich’s teachings, everyone is held to the same standard.
Defense will help the Rockets win games, especially against the bottom-half teams in the league. They still have glaring problems on the offense, but improvement on that side will come with experience. Even with those problems they have won games against Dallas, OKC, and New York. Eventually, the more established and disciplined teams should be able to exploit their weaknesses. I don’t expect Houston to be a top contender with the inconsistencies on offense, but they will be a tough out for any team in the playoffs. With their best players under contract and currently second in the Western Conference, the future is bright for the Rockets.
