Hope for our defense to improve

Earlier in the season we boasted a top 10 Defense. Why was this and how did it fall off ? Were we playing over our heads or did something happen that caused us to slip?

Luckily I have some answers for these questions . Injuries really hurt us. Hopefully we can get healthy together and recover our defense . The player that was out wasn't Gordon ( though he is a solid defender ) and it definitely wasn't Anderson. It was Clint

Clint anchored our defense before he hurt his leg and our defensive slippage can be tied to his absence. HE is the only player on our roster that is capable of being a high level rim protector and his lob potential on offense is also important.

For us to reclaim our status as contenders Clint needs to regain his form. I believe he has already recovered some of his chemistry with Harden, but his shot blocking timing isn't there yet.

If Clint can reach the same level he was anchoring the defense earlier in the year then the rockets can become an above average defensive team again.

Aside from Clint, we continue to see effort from James. Beverley appears to have regained a step and Gordon is better than expected.

All of this talk about trades and needing help and I don't think its unwarranted... That being said, Clint returning to form and Dekker and Harrell continuing to improve can give us a big boost.

The offense will always be the sexy topic and its easy to spot when a player has an off night on that end of the court. I thought our effort at the end of the bulls game was excellent and am hopeful that we can gain some momentum on the defensive side of the floor.

TLDR .. clint we need you back to the rim protector you were before the leg injury.

 

Clint was statistically worse in Jan than in Nov and Dec on both ends. He played less min per game in Jan less Pts, Rebs, and blocks.

The team was 21-7 before he got hurt. In games since he's gotten back the team has gone 4-5 , 5-5 if you count tonight. This is not an indictment on Clint. He's coming back from a serious injury and needed to play himself back into form. The team played well when he was out, record wise, but not only was our schedule easier , but also our margin of victory was lower.

Clint in the 4th most important player on this team ... and the other 3 are guards. Clint may be our most impactful defensive player. I stand by my original statement. If clint can return to his defensive form and continue to build a rapport with James on the offensive end, we can reclaim our spot among the league's elite given the other players perform up to expectations.

There is no other rim protector on the team. The cost of trading for one might be prohibitive. It is in our best interests for clint to play like he was earlier this year. Given his age and how he seems to have recovered from injury.... I think he's got a good chance of doing just that.