Why the Rockets are the NBA’s most surprising contender

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The Rockets are second in the West, thanks to a balanced attack. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)

The Rockets’ attempt to become a serious outfit began in earnest last season on the defensive end. It’s no shock that their attempt to take the next step this season — from serious to scary, from also-ran to contender — has started there, too.

“Every team that’s won a championship is usually a top-five ranked defense,” Rockets head coach Ime Udoka recently told Michael Pina of The Ringer. “That’s a non-negotiable for me.”

Building a top-flight defense — which Udoka and Co. have done, as Houston enters Thursday’s matchup with the Warriors ranked second in defensive efficiency, according to Cleaning the Glass — establishes a high floor. In the age of pace, space and unfettered 3-point bombing, though, it’s the other end of the court that often determines a team’s ceiling.

Twenty of the last 21 NBA champions featured a top-10 offense. The one that didn’t, the 2021-22 Warriors, had Stephen Curry … which, y’know, is basically the same thing. Those Dubs also scored 116.4 points per 100 possessions outside of garbage time in the playoffs; that would’ve been the second-best offense in the league during the regular season.

These Rockets aren’t built around a single megawatt offensive force on the order of Curry, Giannis Antetokounmpo, a healthy Kawhi Leonard or Nikola Jokić. They’re not built around an armada of shooters like the Celtics team that Udoka used to coach, or an overwhelming tandem like the LeBron James/Anthony Davis duo that led the Lakers to the 2020 title. Fourth-year center Alperen Şengün provides about as compelling a Joker impersonation as there is in the game, but he’s seen his shooting efficiency decline both inside and outside the arc. After five straight 20-plus-point performances to open the season, former No. 2 overall pick Jalen Green has once again waned, shooting a career-worst 47% on 2-pointers and 33.1% on 3s with a barely positive assist-to-turnover ratio. Fred VanVleet remains a rock-solid table-setter, but he’s missing more than two-thirds of…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/why-the-rockets-are-the-nbas-most-surprising-contender-204022343.html

Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2024-12-05 20:40:00

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