HOUSTON – Beware NBA. The Houston Rockets are riding high early, emerging as one of the biggest surprises in the early stages of the 2023-2024 NBA season. Their impressive performance, highlighted by a six-game winning streak, has raised eyebrows across the league.
What's impressive is the young core's longevity. The combined age average of Jalen Green, Alperen Sengun, and Jabari Smith Jr is 20.75. Sure, they have veterans like Jeff Green, Fred VanVleet, and Dillon Brooks, but in the past three seasons, the Rockets also had veterans such as John Wall, Eric Gordon, Victor Oladipo, and Kelly Olynyk surrounding their developing young core. Each of these players have playoff experience. With a change in roster and coaching following the past three seasons, it raises the question: Why didn't the previous veterans pan out? Was it due to the rebuilding process or poor coaching personnel among its superiors?
How Are The Rockets Winning?
So what's the reason for the Rockets winning ways? What's the secret sauce? Well for starters, the most pleasant surprise is their defense. In the Stephen Silas era, Houston was 27th or lower on both opponent points per game allowed and defensive efficiency in each of the three seasons, with the 2021-2022 season being dead last. Nearly every game resulted in a blowout if Houston's roster couldn't muster up a solid defense.
This year, Udoka's team has made a remarkable defensive leap, climbing to third in the NBA for fewest opponent points allowed per game at 105.8, a significant improvement from ranking 27th last season with 118.6 points per game. They are also fifth in defensive efficiency. The most notable improvement is in their fast break defense, which had been a major weakness in the past. Since 2020, the Rockets consistently ranked last in the league for allowing fast break points. This season, however, they have turned things around dramatically, leading the NBA with the fewest fast break points allowed, a complete 180 from past years.
Houston's offense has also taken a big stride, as they are a top ten in offensive rating, number seven in average scoring margin, fourth in assist to turnover ratio, and third in committed turnovers per game.
This is a notable turnaround from the previous two seasons, where they were ranked 30th in turnovers. More impressively, the team has shown exceptional performance in crucial moments. During their six-game winning streak, Houston has consistently outscored opponents in non-blowout wins by an average of at least eight points, demonstrating their ability to deliver when it counts.
A notable player to mention is Alperen Sengun, who is posting potential All-Star numbers, averaging 19.4 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 6 assists across 31.4 minutes.
Faring Well Against Contending Teams
The team's refreshed approach has taken contending NBA teams by surprise, including the Los Angeles Lakers, the New Orleans Pelicans, and most recently, the Denver Nuggets. Despite the Nuggets’ high ranking in offensive efficiency, they struggled against the Rockets. Even Nikola Jokic's impressive triple-double of 36 points, 21 rebounds, and 11 assists at 50% efficiency was unable to overcome Houston's defense on Sunday night. Even though Jokic had another monster statline, he was 7-for-17 when Sengun was defending him. This is a testament to Sengun's improved defense in the paint.
Some non-Rockets fans question the legitimacy of these wins, citing injuries to key players on opposing teams such as De'Aaron Fox, Anthony Davis, CJ McCollum, and Jamal Murray. However, these teams remain formidable opponents, each having made the playoffs at least once in recent seasons. Moreover, the Nuggets are the reigning NBA Champions, underscoring the significance of Houston's victories.
Winning When It Counts
Here lies the question for non-fans: If they perform well in blowout games, how would they fare on a bad shooting night? This was perfectly illustrated in the first In-Season Tournament game against the Pelicans. After leading 54-48, Houston struggled in the third quarter, getting outscored 31-16. Trailing by nine heading into the fourth, Udoka decided to substitute veteran Jeff Green for Jabari Smith Jr., primarily due to Smith's inadequate defense against Zion Williamson in the opening quarter.
This strategy proved effective, as the Rockets stifled New Orleans' offense in the fourth quarter, conceding only 22 points while Houston's offense, led by VanVleet and Sengun, surged in the final stretch.
Same Outcome, Different Game
Udoka employed the same strategy against Denver's power forward Michael Porter Jr. Once he recognized the difficulty Jabari faced in guarding Porter Jr. in the low post and during paint cuts, he called on Jeff Green. Against a top-five offense like the Nuggets, prioritizing defense over offense was crucial, and that's exactly what the Rockets did in the fourth quarter. Down 76-74, the Rockets took over, dismantling the Nuggets offense, even when Jokic was on the floor. Along with Jeff Green's clutch shooting and defense, VanVleet and Sengun also made key stops and timely shots. ]
Aside from the win, Jabari was benched for the entire fourth quarter in a second straight closeout game. Udoka had this to say about the lack of minutes down the stretch for Jabari:
“Different guys different nights. Last game [Pelicans] we did like how Jeff [Green] was guarding Williamson there and tonight [Nuggets] Jeff just had it going a little bit more.”
In his second NBA season, Jabari is only 20 years old. It would behoove him to observe how a seasoned 16-year veteran and NBA champion like Jeff Green effectively guards strong, young forwards such as Porter Jr. and Zion.
Following the win against the Nuggets, Udoka also praised Green's veteran impact on the court and his understanding of how the Nuggets play:
“[Green] all week, leading up to this game had a ton of advice and experience. Was out there being a quarterback on defense, calling out there sets and what they were getting into. He had that familiarity with the team [Nuggets].”
The question remains: Can the Rockets continue to ride this winning streak and defy the odds? While it's still early in the season, each opponent should definitely do their homework when it comes to facing these young Rockets. What's crazy is that this isn't even the Rockets at full strength. Once Cam Whitmore finds his fitting in the G-League and Amen Thompson returns from injury, this team will be a fearsome bunch.
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