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Houston Rockets: Taking Stock Of 6-1 Start

By Mauricio Putz

Nov 3, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Houston Rockets guard James Harden (left) and center Dwight Howard (12) joke around on the bench as time winds down in a game against the Philadelphia 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center. The Rockets defeated the 76ers 104-93. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 3, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Houston Rockets guard James Harden (left) and center Dwight Howard (12) joke around on the bench as time winds down in a game against the Philadelphia 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center. The Rockets defeated the 76ers 104-93. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /
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Two weeks into the regular season, here are some notes on the Houston Rockets‘ hot start atop of the Western Conference.

  • The last time the Houston Rockets were 6-1 to start a season, 2007-08, they failed to reach the second round of the Western Conference Playoffs. During the 1996-97 season, the Rockets also had a 6-1 record and reached the Western Conference Finals. They eventually succumbed to Karl Malone‘s and John Stockton‘s Utah Jazz. They face the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday in Mexico City which should move them into 7-1 for the season making it their best start to a season since 1996-97.
  • Dwight Howard is fifth in the league in rebounds per game with 11.5, a slight dip from his 2013-14 season of 12.2 RPG. Nevertheless, he is first in defensive rating on the Rockets with 85.1 — second in the league among players with more than 30 minutes per game behind Golden State Warriors‘ Klay Thompson‘s 82.0 — a massive improvement from his 102.2 defensive rating of the 2013-14 season. In fact, said DRtg goes all the way up into the low 100s when he is on the bench, 102.1.

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  • Dwight Howard’s position as one of the team’s cornerstones was reinforced by their loss at the hands of the Golden State Warriors as they outrebounded the Rockets 54-46 and outscored them in the paint 56-32 due to the big man’s absence.*
  • The Rockets depth has had a huge impact on their 6-1 start. It is Isaiah Canaan who’s proven to be a worthy replacement for an injured Patrick Beverley by shooting .471/.457/.750 as he averages 9.7 points per game and 1.4 assists for them.
  • Trevor Ariza is having the career-year Daryl Morey expected. When most people around the league predicted sort of a downfall for the Rockets as they replaced Chandler Parsons with Trevor Ariza, non-contract-year Ariza has delivered as he leads the league in 3-point makes (22) and shoots an overwhelming .400/.478/.857 from the field.
  • The Rockets are third in the league (tied with the Portland Trail Blazers, Golden State Warriors and Chicago Bulls) in average speed with 4.2, and fourth in the league (tied with the Bulls, Trail Blazers, Indiana Pacers and Sacramento Kings) in distance traveled per game, 16.7 miles.
  • Also, the Rockets are 11th in the league in passes per game, a stats they ought to look into since the ball moves faster than defenders, thus creating more open shots or lanes for players like James Harden, Trevor Ariza and Terrence Jones. Ball movement is what the super-succesful triangle offense is based on and has single-handedly turned the Spurs into a dynasty.**
  • Their biggest improvement from last season is, by far, their defensive game. Seven games into the 2013-14 season, the Houston Rockets’ opponents were averaging 103.7 points per game, whereas seven games into the 2014-15 season their opponents are averaging a second-in-the-league 90.9 points per game behind the Memphis Grizzlies’ jaw-dropping 87.6 opponents points per game.

With 75 games to go in the regular season, everything seems to be going the Rockets’ way. It remains to be seen if they can keep up with such a performance, but if they had to hold on to something, their defense is the thing that’ll elevate their game past the rest of the powerful Western Conference.

*Howard missed the game against the Warriors due to flu-like symptoms so there’s nothing to worry about. All-in-all he seems to be back in Superman form.

**Based on the San Antonio Spurs’ space-and-pace theory. The Spurs led the league in Speed and Distance, Touches, and Passing throughout the 2013-14 season making them a nightmare for defenses around the league. They took all this to the next level as they obliterated the Miami Heat during the NBA Finals.

Next: Houston Rockets: Trevor Ariza Leads The Way

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