Houston Rockets: How Far Away Are They From Golden State?
Throughout the 2014-15 season, a rather well-deserved praised has surrounded the exciting and extremely successful Golden State Warriors.
After a 16-game winning streak that included wins over the New Orleans Pelicans, Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks, and Chicago Bulls, “historic,” “unprecedented” and “never-before-seen” were thrown around — somewhat carelessly, if you ask me — to define the Warriors early-season success.
Now, with the Rockets being rather healthy and the Warriors’ calendar getting a little tougher in the following days, and their hot-streak likely coming back to earth, how exactly do both teams fare against each other? Who’s ahead? By how much?
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Of course, in terms of excitement the Warriors could be historically great and are above-and-beyond the Rockets who, by mastering the most efficient shots in the game and winning by playing smart-basketball, are walking a tad on the “boring” side of the plain.
However, in terms of players’ numbers and head-to-heads, the Rockets and the Warriors are closer than you think.
Team Overall
Houston Rockets
The Houston Rockets are fourth in the Western Conference with a 19-6 record as they trail the Portland Trail Blazers, the Memphis Grizzlies, and, you guessed it, the Golden State Warriors.
However, their fourth place is nothing to frown upon. Some of Houston’s starters have missed considerable time — Dwight Howard missed 11 games, Patrick Beverley missed 12 games, Terrence Jones has missed 21 games and counting — and the Rockets are still strong an kept pushing with one of the most depleted rosters in the NBA.
Overall, the Rockets have the third-best defense in the NBA by opposing points per game, 96.0. They also have the league’s 18th-best offense per points per game, 99.8.
The Rockets’ offense has been firing on all cylinders since the beginning of the season so an improvement is unlikely since everything has been going the Rockets’ way. Nevertheless, if they can keep opponents at shore defensively, they are sure making a huge splash as the season runs its course.
| Rk | Team | G | FG% | 3P% | 2P% | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PTS | PTS/G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | Houston Rockets | 25 | .424 | .341 | .483 | .712 | 310 | 807 | 1117 | 487 | 224 | 127 | 429 | 2496 | 99.8 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 12/19/2014.
| Offense Four Factors | Defense Four Factors | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rk | Team | ORtg | DRtg | eFG% | TOV% | ORB% | FT/FGA | eFG% | TOV% | DRB% | FT/FGA |
| 11 | Houston Rockets | 104.5 | 100.6 | .495 | 15.5 | 28.7 | .232 | .465 | 14.8 | 73.4 | .221 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 12/19/2014.
Golden State Warriors
There’s not much to say about the Warriors that hasn’t been said just yet. Yes, they are on a historical pace as a team. Yes, they strung the longest win-streak of the early season. Yes, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson are the best backcourt in the NBA, by far.
Big caveat though, the Warriors have had EVERYTHING going their way up to this point of the season. They have had a relatively easy schedule so far and, during their 16-game win-streak the Warriors face only four teams better than .500 — the New Orleans Pelicans (twice), the Chicago Bulls, the Houston Rockets and the Dallas Mavericks.
Everyone else on their schedule was a bottom-half team in the league.
Yes, even though the Warriors were extremely hot for almost a full month their streak and offensive accolades should go back to normal since the streak ended.
| Rk | Team | G | FG% | 3P% | 2P% | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PTS | PTS/G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Golden State Warriors | 25 | .480 | .372 | .527 | .781 | 251 | 888 | 1139 | 633 | 214 | 168 | 400 | 2687 | 107.5 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 12/19/2014.
| Offense Four Factors | Defense Four Factors | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rk | Team | ORtg | DRtg | eFG% | TOV% | ORB% | FT/FGA | eFG% | TOV% | DRB% | FT/FGA |
| 1 | Golden State Warriors | 109.1 | 99.1 | .536 | 14.5 | 23.7 | .197 | .453 | 13.8 | 74.1 | .204 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 12/19/2014.
Yes, the Warriors have defeated the Rockets twice during the ongoing season and have looked not only fresher but smarter with Steve Kerr at the helm. Nevertheless, it is safe to say that things will start to look up for the Rockets with their injured starters easing their way into the lineup.
With an all-around force coming back in Dwight Howard and the 17th-“toughest” schedule in the league, the Rockets could be on top of the Western Conference sooner rather than later.