For one reason or another, the Houston Rockets have been overlooked this season.
The most prominent qualms about these Rockets is their lack of a perennial NBA All-Star and the overall inexperience of the team’s core group. While these concerns are indeed valid, the actual on-court results tell a different story.
Houston finds itself in second place in the Western Conference with less than two weeks left in the regular season and many of the team’s doubters are beginning to change their tune. Following their dominant 143-105 win over the Utah Jazz, the Rockets became just the second Western Conference team to win 50 games so far this season.
They followed up this milestone with an even bigger win two nights later–an impressive 125-111 victory over the West’s top seed, the Oklahoma City Thunder. Houston took a 5-3 lead barely a minute into the match off a floater from Alperen Sengun and did not look back from then on. Their lead swelled to 23 points late in the first half and their control of the game was never truly in doubt.
Head coach Ime Udoka pulled off an interesting gambit, starting Steven Adams for just the third time this season—and for the first time alongside Alperen Sengun. This dual center line-up has worked wonders for the Rockets this season, allowing the skillful Sengun to roam freely while Adams takes care of the dirty work.
Adams played 22 minutes and finished with eight points, 12 rebounds, two steals, and a block. He helped Houston completely out-rebound Oklahoma City, 48-33–including 14-7 on offensive rebounds. The physicality and intangibles that the 31-year-old brings to the table are a subtle yet crucial reason for this team’s success this season.
The importance of Adams’ role with the Rockets this year is telling of Udoka’s priority for this team: defense. While Sengun and Jalen Green remain the focal point of their offense, the defensive end has been this team’s strong point all year long. On the season, they lead the league in offensive and total rebound percentage which is the only common advanced metric that they are truly excellent in. This has buoyed their defensive rating in which they have the fourth best overall in the league this year.
In addition to Adams, others who have helped turn Houston into a defensive juggernaut are Fred VanVleet, Amen Thompson, Dillon Brooks, and Tari Eason. The breakout season of the second-year wing Thompson is another major reason for this team’s emergence as he has gradually taken on a bigger role as the season has gone on.
The upcoming postseason should come with no pressure and expectations for this Rockets team that has well exceeded even experts’ best case preseason forecasts for them. This is the franchise’s first playoff appearance since 2020 when James Harden was still the heart and soul of their offense. The franchise’s rebuild has clearly been a successful one so far and anything that they achieve in this year’s playoffs should be considered gravy.
Of course, there is no reason to believe that this team is just happy to be in the postseason and they will be a difficult one to beat regardless of whom they match up with.
