Lift-Off
The Houston Rockets for the past 7 seasons have been expected to take the next step by winning the NBA Finals. Year after year, however, the
Rockets have flamed-out. Early exits from the playoffs, despite getting
astronomical numbers from their 2012 signing of James Harden, have
plagued the Rockets, and caused talk about their potential championship
falling on deaf ears.
Pretenders
Harden and the Rockets were unable to achieve more success than losing
to the Golden State Warriors in the 2015 NBA Playoffs. With Chris Paul,
and the defense of Trevor Ariza, Houston could not turn one of the league’s
most talented rosters into champions.
Contenders
The start by the Rockets to their 2020 regular season, however, has once
again ignited talk about winning the Larry O’Brien trophy in June of 2020.
Houston has an 11-4 record, and are seeded 3rd in the NBA Western
Conference. In their last 10 games, the Rockets have won 8. Harden is
playing at his usual MVP level, and has been joined by his friend Russell
Westbrook, who came over in the off-season from the Oklahoma City
Thunder. The “Beard” is averaging 38.4 PPG, 7.5 APG, and 7.5 RPG,
placing him in the MVP conversations, territory that Harden is used to being in. Westbrook, 15 games into this young season, has come as advertised, averaging 22.2 PPG, 7.5 RPG, and 6.8 APG. Houston is 3rd in the NBA in Offensive Rating (112.3). Offense has never been the problem of the Rockets, particularly in the playoffs. This regular season has looked quite different for the team
because of the play of their defense. “Defense wins championships” is a
famous belief by players and coaches in almost every sport. Houston is
not lighting up the stat sheet with suffocating defense, but quietly they have put together a few interesting statistics that show an improvement in
defense and overall effort of the team.
The Rockets are 6th in the Western Conference in rebounds per game with
47.1 RPG. Houston is currently 15th overall in Defensive Rating, which at
first glance appears insignificant, except for the fact that they are also
ranked 9th in the league in steals averaging 8.3 steals per game. Clint
Capella, the team’s Center, is 3rd in the NBA in blocked shots.
Just in case the analytics out there have not had enough of their statistical
fix, here is another bit of information that might aid in the quest of the
Rockets’ championship aspirations. Houston’s strength of schedule, the
difficulty or ease of their schedule compared to other teams, is 15th up until the All-Star break.
At the Buzzer
Pretenders, not contenders. That has long been the narrative over the
Houston Rockets. After 15 games though, the team has emerged as an
early contender for winning the NBA Finals in 2020.
It is early in the season, but the Rockets have put themselves in
championship discussions not with their offense, not with the parade to the
foul line by Harden (87% from the FT line), not with Westbrook running end to end blazing a trail of fire, but with defense and rebounding. In the
postseason, the great teams force their opponents to make bad decisions
and play out of character. Houston’s decision to focus on their rebounding
and defense, has changed the way they appear to the rest of the NBA.
The Rockets are firing on all cylinders and the change in their style of play
makes them legitimate NBA Finals contenders.