The Houston Rockets have had an interesting start to the NBA season. They started off very, very hot, going 6-0 right out of the gate, and blowing out the majority of their competition while looking like the cream of the crop of the Western Conference. Things haven’t gone as smoothly in recent weeks, as they have looked very beatable while facing some not-so-good competition. Obviously, this is a small sample size, and the team seems to be going through a rough spell from the floor, making their offense look atrocious.
The team normally is carried by their stellar offense, as James Harden and Dwight Howard usually have some very good offensive games to carry the team to some amazing offensive displays. A great example of this would be the start of this year, as the Rockets dominated the offensive end, seemingly scoring at will. The team has dropped off and that would normally be a major problem because this team is fueled by their offense. It has been a different story this year.
The Rockets have managed to maintain their great record, but not with their offense. No, this team has been doing a lot of what championship winning squads do. They have been playing a lot of defense over the first 15 games. It’s a major difference, and it has started with the effort of James Harden on that end.
Nobody has improved their effort more than Harden, as he has gone from laughing stock to mediocre defender rather quickly. And rest assured, there is a world’s difference between worst defender in the league and mediocre defender. It certainly helps that the team is anchored by one of this generation’s best defensive players in Dwight Howard.
Swapping out Chandler Parsons and Jeremy Lin for Trevor Ariza and added minutes for Patrick Beverley/Isaiah Canaan have done wonders for the team’s overall defensive performance. The team has actually been dominant on that end and it has been fun to watch this team change up their style of play.
So, how good has the team been defensively? They currently lead the league in points allowed with an amazingly low 91.5 points allowed per game. That’s incredible, especially considering that the majority of their opponents have come from the brutal Western Conference. Of course, points per game can be misleading as a statistic, as the amount of possessions teams get will vary depending on their style of play.
For that, we also have team Defensive Rating of 98. Defensive Rating is how many points the team would allow per 100 possessions. A Defensive Rating of 98 is quite good. They are ranked second in that category. Clearly, this team has been entirely focused on defense and it’s ultimately going to help them during the stretch run.
Houston has changed their style of play dramatically and it has been a nice change of pace. This team’s offense has struggled with Terrence Jones being gone due to injury, but they have made up for it on the other end and have emerged as legitimate championship contenders in a difficult Western Conference.