Houston Rockets: 3 takeaways from slow start

3. Offense has struggled

While there have been a myriad of factors behind the Rockets slow start, one could harshly claim they have no one to blame but themselves, as the squad boasting the league’s most high-powered offense a season ago has looked completely nonexistent at the beginning of the year.

Despite hitting nearly 14 3-pointers per game, the Rockets have failed to consistently convert shots from the field, shooting a near league-worst 41.2 percent through six games. They’re also failing to generate points in high volume, scoring 103.8 points per game per 100 possessions. Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony and Eric Gordon have struggled to find their shots in the flow of Mike D’Antoni’s uptempo attack.

"“Through the first couple of games it was our defense,” Gordon told Hunter Atkins of the Houston Chronicle when describing the Rockets’ early struggles. “Now it’s starting to really transfer to the offense.” “We haven’t put together a game where we’re doing well on both ends…we’re not getting easy shots. That’s really what it boils down too.”"

Although Houston has been without the services of Paul and James Harden together for all but two games, the offense must find a way to show signs of life in the coming weeks. Finding a way to regain their rhythm — combined with knocking down shots — could be the difference between whether or not Clutch City gets back on track sooner rather than later.

Since the start of the regular season, the Rockets have missed a whopping 80 out of 120 open shots when granted six feet or more of space, and over half of their shot attempts within 10 feet of the basket.

Should those two deviations return back to normal, there is a strong possibility Houston could climb back to the top of the standings, as hitting shots in a make-or-miss league will often prove to be the difference in the final outcome.