Don't look now but Rockets are 3-1 against division opponents. I know division don't mean jack shiet in the nba but it's an early good sign.
We are not a good passing team. Right now 29th in the NBA in assists per game. Some of this can be explained by our poor shooting , but also we have lowish potential assist numbers as well. Its not a death sentence. But , for us to be good we have to be great on defense and our scorers ( jalen and alpy) have to continuously create for themselves at a high rate. So far jalen hasnt been efficient overall , but hes been good enough for us to win. Think about the first q vs OKC. Jalen and Alpi came out strong and were out muscling and out - athelticalling ( i know thats not a word) their defenders to get buckets. But , thats not sustainable over the course of a game neigh the season. We need more movement and ball movement. Fast breaks are nice , but when some of the better teams get locked in and control the ball better we will be out of luck there. Again there is hope , because you'd hope that we dont shoot this bad all year .... but easy to dream. We looked horrid again the pistons ( who ARE improved , but didnt have a couple of their better players from last year) and took care of buisness vs WAS. These next couple of games vs LAC will be interesting On paper , we are a stronger team with leonard out and harden already logging heavy minutes. But it will be a good test of matchups. Their bench has been strong and so has ours , we rely on Tari and Amen to outplay other second units . Sengun can struggle at times vs bigger centers. Can our defense disrupt Harden and Zubac game ? Gotta keep the good start up because the west is tight and the Pelicans and Grizz will get healthy eventually and Dallas and Twolves should start playing a bit better.
These are all great points. I suppose especially in regards to this season. In my mind though looking at the potential for the future I do not think it will be an issue IFFFFFF the shooting can improve.Because if the shooting improves i beleive the personal is there to create for other teammates and share the ball. Green Sheppard Thompson Sengun Those players are willing to pass. If you can't make a shot though it messes the offense up and and dissuades ball movement especially with young players.
The Houston Rockets have a "next man up" mentality. Alperen Sengun is struggling? That's fine - Jalen Green is ready to play like a superstar. If Green cools down, Sengun is likely to heat back up. They aren't the only two Rockets capable of getting a bucket. In fact, one statistic suggests that the Rockets are stacked with guys who can do exactly that. Rockets among the deepest teams in the NBA Remember before the season started when Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta declared that the Rockets were the deepest team in the NBA? It was met as bluster. Fertitta was proud of the roster Rafael Stone had assembled. He was also entirely too biased to be taken seriously, right? Don't be so sure. The Rockets have an astonishing 7 players averaging 10 or more points per game. Rockets can beat you in countless ways You read that right. Seven. Green is leading the charge with 22.9 points per contest. His 39.4% shooting from the field is uninspiring, but given his high three-point volume (9.6 attempts per game), his efficiency is passable. The Rockets would like to see it improve, but his 53.0 True Shooting % (TS%) is passable. Sengun is right behind him. He's averaging 16.4 points per game. The Turkish big man had a slow start to 2024-25. Rest assured that his average will creep back to last year's mark before long. Otherwise, Jabari Smith Jr., Dillon Brooks, Tari Eason, and Amen Thompson are all averaging at least 10 points per game. Here's what's even more impressive: Those aren't the most gifted remaining scorers on the squad. The Rockets have many mouths to feed It's not hard to piece this one together. Whitmore is a more natural scorer than Eason or Thompson, but he's less well-rounded. The defensive impact of the former duo is keeping them on the floor. Still, it's notable that the Rockets have so much depth that a stud like Whitmore is struggling to find his way. How about Reed Sheppard? It's overwhelmingly likely that he'll eventually score 10 or more points per game in the NBA. The 7 points he managed against the Knicks in just 14 minutes on Monday only reinforce that assertion. Some will suggest that this stat reflects the Rockets' need to consolidate. That's a reasonable position. Let's use a more micro lens. The Rockets' depth will help them achieve their goal of reaching the playoffs in 2024-25. If one of their men are down, another will step up
The Cup thing is about who surprises who....anyone can win it....the Pacers almost won it last year despite being just a lower seed. They then went on to make the EC Finals.
I think with Chet going down and Wolves destroying their own team by trading KaT the Rockets don't have a bad matchup in the West anymore and can take anyone. The Celtics are the only team left that I would say are straight up superior and would beat down the Rockets almost every game.
Imagine this team getting to 50 wins as-is and then having the gluttony of picks coming up. Y'all better start giving Rafael Stone his flowers.
@Verbal Christ - you have been critical of Alpi in the past, but you are a fair poster with a good sense of humour - curious what you think about Alpi this season? Do you think his defensive improvement is sustainable and for real? Where do you see him/his ceiling now?
