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The Houston Rockets And Their Eventual Demise

By Mauricio Putz

Mar 7, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Houston Rockets forwards Terrence Jones (6) and Trevor Ariza (right) go after a rebound during the first half against the Denver Nuggets at Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 7, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Houston Rockets forwards Terrence Jones (6) and Trevor Ariza (right) go after a rebound during the first half against the Denver Nuggets at Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports /
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Looking back at what the Houston Rockets have done for the 2014-15 season, it all seems to be going smoothly. Even though their rotation has been shaken and changed several times due to injuries — including Dwight Howard twice and Terrence Jones for 40 games — the Houston Rockets have somewhat stood up for themselves and survived the season, so far.

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A huge reason for their success has been James Harden playing at arguably the highest level in the league and doing so without his go-to man Howard under the basket. Harden has almost singlehandedly elevated the Houston Rockets into a certain level of contention.

However, if you were to take a closer look at the 2014-15 Rockets, there’s also been a couple of trends that could put an end to their title hopes.

Out of the Rockets’ 43 wins, 25 have come against teams with a sub-.500 record. This means that the Rockets have only 18 wins against teams with a .500 record or better.

Surprisingly, out of those 18 wins, only six have been against Eastern Conference teams with a winning record, including two against LeBron James‘ Cleveland Cavaliers. The Houston Rockets have performed quite well against the squads that they’ll likely face during the playoffs.

Also, under Daryl Morey’s command, the Houston Rockets have the league’s smartest offense with only 14-percent of their shots — about 730 out of 5,216 shots — being mid-range jumpers, the most ineffective shot in the game. Of course, once the mid-range jumper is removed from the Rockets’ repertoire they should perform at a higher level. At least offensively.

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Well, in the Rockets’ case, they haven’t. Even by removing the aforementioned shot — which usually destroys teams’ shooting percentages — the Houston Rockets are shooting a below-average 43.9-percent from the field, trailing teams like Milwaukee Bucks, Orlando Magic, Utah Jazz and Brooklyn Nets.

Their plus-3.6 point differential leaves almost no room for error for the Houston Rockets on a game-to-game basis. With such a slim margin neither their offense nor their defense are allowed to have a bad/off night without it resulting in a loss.

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2 Houston Rockets international players that never played a single minute
2 Houston Rockets international players that never played a single minute /

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    • Not exactly what Morey was going for.

    However, even though the previous reasons by themselves might not be enough to put an end to the Rockets’ season, the combination of them is what eventually will. Each of the previous issues have been with the Rockets since the beginning of the season.

    Sadly, with the regular season coming to an end, and the Western Conference seeding likely going down the wire, it’s not wise nor realistic for the Houston Rockets to try and fix them now.

    Of course, Howard’s absence has played a huge role in almost every one of the Rockets’ troubles, but it has also been good for their rotation and bench. It is always a great idea to give your bench players a chance to prove themselves before the playoffs.

    Unfortunately for the Houston Rockets, even through one of their most fruitful seasons in recent franchise history, the road to their first NBA title since 1995 is paved with probably the greatest collection of Western Conference teams ever.

    Next: Rockets: Should They Start 'Tanking'?

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