https://theathletic.com/4188841/2023/02/20/nba-power-rankings-week-19/ 29. Houston Rockets (previously 28th) | 13-45 | -8.6 net rating Weekly slate: Loss at Sixers, Loss at Thunder 1st Q: -10.7 net rating (previous: -14.6) | Ranked 27th (previous: 28th) 2nd Q: -6.0 net rating (previous: -2.3) | Ranked 26th (previous: 17th) 3rd Q: -9.9 net rating (previous: -5.8) | Ranked 30th (previous: 24th) 4th Q: -8.6 net rating (previous: -3.2) | Ranked 29th (previous: 23rd) Clutch: -6.4 net rating (previous: +11.4) | Ranked 23rd (previous: 9th) | 30 games (10-20) (Previous: 14 games, 7-7) Takeaway: We’ve seen coach Stephen Silas a lot grumpier lately, and I think you can point to the second half of games as the reason why. They are a lot worse coming out of halftime than they were, and we’re seeing the Rockets let go of the rope and be far less competitive in garbage time. First time we checked in, they were actually good and competitive in clutch situations. That has gone completely away. It’s safe to wonder if Silas will be replaced at some point this offseason, which is unfortunately often the case when young coaches take over teams that start rebuilding almost right away. https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/...-knicks-in-top-10-lakers-warriors-disappoint/ 29. Rockets: It's been rough for the Rockets, who have the league's worst record and are dead last in offensive efficiency. Jalen Green has increased his scoring, but has been dreadful from the field, as have Kevin Porter Jr. and rookie Jabari Smith Jr. They've found a bit more success running the offense through intriguing big man Alperen Sengun, with the offense improving by 8.6 points per 100 possessions with him on the floor.
Need to tank harder. •Lost 14 in a row •2nd worst record in the league •30th in power rankings •On track to land Wembanyama
https://theathletic.com/4222230/2023/02/27/nba-power-rankings-week-20/ 29. Houston Rockets (previously 29th) | 13-47 | -8.9 net rating Weekly slate: Loss at Warriors, Win/Loss at Blazers First-quarter grade: C+| Ranked 28th Halfway grade: D- | Ranked 30th Third-quarter grade: F It’s kind of stunning the Spurs have been on a historic losing streak over the last month-plus, and yet the Rockets have still held firm on their worst winning percentage in the NBA. It’s not by much, but it has been there. Houston has the third worst defense in NBA history. They’re just behind Detroit and far behind San Antonio. Everything has been about development, but the vibes with this team and their coach feel off from afar. Stephen Silas needs them to finish strong, just in terms of competing. Prediction update: Jalen Green will average 23.0 points per game… Green is within reach of this prediction at 21.8 points per game. He needs to average roughly 25.8 per game to get to this by the end of the campaign, if he doesn’t miss any more games. That’s very doable, although maybe a little lofty to expect here. https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/...s-making-moves-struggling-heat-take-a-tumble/ 30. Rockets: There's losing, and then there's THIS. The Rockets have given up 25 3-pointers and 113 points to just two players -- Damian Lillard and Klay Thompson -- in their last two games. It's hard to overstate how bad things have gotten in Houston. https://www.nba.com/news/power-rankings-2022-23-week-20 29. HOUSTON ROCKETS Record: 13-47 OffRtg: 109.2 (30) DefRtg: 118.1 (29) NetRtg: -8.9 (29) Pace: 100.0 (16) The Spurs have lost 16 straight games … and still don’t have the league’s worst record. That distinction still belongs to the Rockets, who’ve lost nine straight themselves. They’ve allowed an amazing 127.5 points per 100 possessions (worst in the league by a healthy margin) over the nine games, with Klay Thompson and Damian Lillard combining to score 113 points (with 25 3-pointers) against them over the weekend. The Rockets lost the two games by a total of 32 points, even though they were a plus-64 (124-60) in the paint. But hey, the Rockets were a plus-65 in the paint over two games, and a differential like that is about both ends of the floor. Most important is that they allowed just 40 transition points over the two games (after allowing 71 over their last two games before the break), according to Synergy tracking. On the other end, Kenyon Martin Jr. led the way, and the highlight wasn’t a dunk, but rather a circus shot that he made while falling to the floor. And the Rockets killed the Blazers on the glass on Sunday, turning 18 offensive rebounds into 23 second-chance points. At least one of these losing streaks is going to end this week because the final two meetings between the bottom two teams in the West are a home-and-home back-to-back on Saturday and Sunday. The Spurs won the first two meetings (both in December), winning the two third quarters by a total score of 71-37. Week 20: vs. DEN, vs. MEM, @ SAS, vs. SAS
missed the CBS ranking . . . these guys know whassup https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/...s-making-moves-struggling-heat-take-a-tumble/ 30. Rockets: There's losing, and then there's THIS. The Rockets have given up 25 3-pointers and 113 points to just two players -- Damian Lillard and Klay Thompson -- in their last two games. It's hard to overstate how bad things have gotten in Houston.
https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/...ed-suns-enter-top-five-clippers-in-free-fall/ 28. Rockets — The Rockets got spanked by the Nuggets and Grizzlies to extend their losing streak to 11 games, but then they finally found a team they can beat! They swept a back-to-back, home-and-home set with the Spurs, with eight players averaging double-figures in the two wins. https://theathletic.com/4255665/2023/03/06/nba-power-rankings-week-21/ 28. Houston Rockets (previously 29th) | 15-49 | -8.3 net rating Weekly slate: Loss to Nuggets, Loss to Grizzlies, Win at Spurs, Win over Spurs 2021-22 win total: 20 Preseason over/under: 23.5 Pace last time we checked in: 20.5 Any changes to how we feel? None, really. The Rockets are on pace for 19 victories this season, which is way under their preseason over/under mark. This team is entirely unserious about how it approaches games as a collective unit. Second-worst defense. Third-worst offense. Nobody seems to enjoy this experience. There isn’t a chance the Rockets have nine more wins in the next 18 games. I don’t think they’d have nine if they had 48 more games, although the Spurs out-tanking them this week certainly helped. Prior confidence on the over: 6/10 New confidence on the over: 0/10 https://www.nba.com/news/power-rankings-2022-23-week-21 #28↑ HOUSTON ROCKETS Record: 15-49 OffRtg: 109.8 (28) DefRtg: 118.1 (29) NetRtg: -8.3 (29) Pace: 99.9 (14) It’s been noted in this space multiple times that the Rockets are breaking their own record for most transition points allowed per game (27.0 through Sunday). At the same time, the Rockets have been near the bottom of the league in transition points scored per game. Despite having one of the fastest guys in the league leading them in total minutes, they’ve been letting their opponents have all the fast-break fun. But in their home-and-home sweep of the Spurs over the weekend, the Rockets totaled 64 fast break points, with the 30 and 34 being their two highest totals of the season by a healthy margin. The opposing defense had something to do with it (the Spurs have allowed 41 fast break points in a game this season), but it was good to see the young Rockets on the open floor. Jalen Green only had nine of the 64, but Tari Eason (who can fly) had 17, with two of those coming on a fast break led by Boban Marjanovic. For the season, 48% of Eason’s points have come on fast breaks (20%) or second chances (28%). That’s the third-highest rate (trailing only those of Chris Boucher and Steven Adams) among 287 players with at least 250 total points scored this season. The Rockets are four games into a stretch where they’re playing 10 of 12 at home. They’ve lost their last seven home games against the Eastern Conference, but one of their six total wins against the East (and their third most efficient offensive performance of the season) came against the Bulls, who will be in Houston on Saturday. Week 21: vs. BKN, @ IND, vs. CHI
https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/...cks-nuggets-stumble-kings-and-lakers-move-up/ 29. Rockets: The Rockets' modest two-game winning streak was, alas, short-lived, as they lost all three games this week. They nearly pulled off a win in Indiana behind a career-high 30 points from rookie Jabari Smith Jr., but they ran out of gas in overtime. https://theathletic.com/4279222/2023/03/13/nba-power-rankings-week-21-2/ 29. Houston Rockets (previously 28th) | 15-52 | -8.5 net rating Weekly slate: Loss to Nets, Loss at Pacers, Loss to Bulls Lineup: Kevin Porter Jr. | Jalen Green | K.J. Martin | Jabari Smith Jr. | Alperen Şengün Stats: 177 minutes | -8.2 net rating | 105.4 offensive rating | 113.6 defensive rating I am actually quite confused by this lineup, and I’m trying to figure out if these are encouraging numbers. It’s an extremely young lineup, so I don’t expect to see any success with it. Average age of this lineup is 21 years old. Usually with a lineup this young, the offense would look pretty decent and the defense would be atrocious. That’s not this lineup. They’ve been a putrid offense and the defense is really solid. It’s a really good rebounding lineup, but they can’t make a shot and the turnover rate is too high. Something to build on? https://www.nba.com/news/power-rankings-2022-23-week-22 #28 HOUSTON ROCKETS Record: 15-52 OffRtg: 109.8 (28) DefRtg: 118.2 (29) NetRtg: -8.5 (29) Pace: 99.9 (15) The Rockets’ last win over a team not named the Spurs came on Feb. 1. They had two chances to pick up wins last week, coming back from 18 points down to force overtime (on Jabari Smith’s turnaround 3-pointer) in Indiana and holding a nine-point, fourth-quarter lead against the Bulls. But they allowed 19 points in the extra period on Thursday and they came up empty in the final minutes of the fourth quarter two nights later. They’ve lost their last five games that were within five minutes, having scored 43 points on 49 clutch possessions over that stretch. For the season, 19 of Smith’s 31 clutch shots have come from 3-point range. Overall, 46.9% of his shots, the third highest rate among 44 players 6-10 or taller with at least 250 total field goal attempts, have come from beyond the arc. But in scoring a career-high 30 points in that Indiana game, Smith was 7-for-14 inside the arc (with some pretty mid-range jumpers and one really strong finish through Myles Turner) and 7-for-9 at the line. He’s played only 22% of his minutes at the five, with 67% having come alongside Alperen Sengun. The 121.3 points per 100 possessions the Rockets have allowed with the two young bigs on the floor is the second worst mark among 180 two-man combinations that have played at least 1,000 minutes, topped only by the mark (121.5) for Sengun and Jalen Green. Like the two teams below them in these rankings, the Rockets have been eliminated from playoff (or Play-In) contention. Their playoff drought is now three seasons long, and they’ll need to win one more game than the Pistons over the next four weeks to avoid having the league’s worst record in all three of those seasons. They’ll play Detroit (in Houston) at the end of the month, but have a pretty tough schedule between now and then. Week 22: vs. BOS, vs. LAL, vs. NOP, vs. NOP
"I think if maybe we had Kevin (Porter) healthy all year, that we would have made a playoff push. Instead I had to play that foreign guy that eats dates in the locker room a lot of minutes. It's a real downer, I would like to move away from the weird Arab dude in the post." - Stephen Silas
I can see us ascending the ranks all the way up to 28 if this current moral winning streak continues Extend Steve if so.
If someone tries to describe Alp as Arab, it is similar to call East coast Irish people as Hispanic or Croatians as Filipinos. All different nations, different backgrounds, different languages, different histories, different customs but mainly belongs to the same religious group
https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/...king-76ers-stay-no-1-knicks-back-in-top-five/ 26. ROCKETS Break up the Rockets! Houston rattled off three straight unexpected wins this week, beating the Celtics, Lakers and Pelicans -- the last one coming on a cold-blooded, last-second 3-pointer by rookie Jabari Smith Jr. Even Sunday's loss in the rematch with New Orleans yielded some positives, as Jalen Green hit the 40-point mark for the fourth time this season. https://theathletic.com/4301934/2023/03/20/nba-power-rankings-week-23/ 27. Houston Rockets (previously 29th) | 18-53 | -8.0 net rating Weekly slate: Win over Celtics, Win over Lakers, Win over Pelicans, Loss to Pelicans Team clutch: (13-22) | -9.3 net rating (ranked 24th) The Rockets are one of several really young teams that simply don’t find success in clutch situations. Surprisingly, for a young team, the Rockets have been really good with their clutch defense. They have one of the best clutch defenses in the NBA. But their offense is the worst in the league and doesn’t even crack 92 points per 100 possessions. Mr. Reliable: Jalen Green | 47.8 FG | 25.0 3FG | 72.0 FT | 22.4 points per 36 | 4.8 rebounds per 36 | 2.1 assists per 36 | 3.1 turnovers per 36 One of the bright spots with their horrific clutch offense is Green making shots. While he may have his flaws as a player, he’s still a very gifted scorer and he’s fearless in those situations. Sometimes to the detriment of Houston, but you want that mentality on your team. They’ll always be able to rely on Green to step up for big shots. Mr. Unreliable: Jabari Smith Jr. | 27.3 FG | 28.6 3FG | 73.7 FT | 13.5 points per 36 | 10.3 rebounds per 36 | 1.1 assists per 36 | 0.7 turnovers per 36 Smith’s tough offensive season continues in the clutch. This is fine for now because we don’t need to hammer rookies for faults too much. He’s not called on a ton, but he has really struggled to make shots all season long. He rebounds and he plays defense, which have saved his rookie season from sinking, but he’s going to need to find some comfort scoring the ball. https://www.nba.com/news/power-rankings-2022-23-week-23 #27↑ HOUSTON ROCKETS Record: 18-53 OffRtg: 110.1 (27) DefRtg: 118.1 (29) NetRtg: -8.0 (29) Pace: 99.7 (15) The Rockets are set to finish in the bottom five on both ends of the floor for the third straight season, with no other team ranking in the bottom five on both ends in any two of those three years. That they’re there on defense isn’t a big surprise, but there was seemingly some hope for improvement on offense, and (when you take the league average into account) they’ve actually taken a small step backward on that end of the floor. The Rockets are the only team that ranks in the bottom five in field goal percentage in the paint (55.2%, 27th), mid-range field goal percentage (35.6%, 30th) and 3-point percentage (32.8%, 29th). Given that the perimeter shooting has been worse, it’s good that only the Grizzlies have taken a greater percentage of their shots in the paint. And some of that abundance comes from second chances, with the Rockets leading the league in offensive rebounding percentage. As they won three straight games (for the first time) last week, they averaged 64.7 points in the paint and 18.3 second-chance points. The Rockets do rank 17th offensively (114.2 points scored per 100 possessions) since the All-Star break, up from 30th (109.2 per 100) before the break, and it seems that they’ll avoid having the league’s worst record for a third straight season. Their two remaining games within the bottom four are 11 and 15 days away, and the Rockets will play three games against the league’s top two defenses (those of the Cavs and Grizzlies) this week. Week 23: vs. GSW, @ MEM, @ MEM, @ CLE
https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/...cs-back-on-top-timberwolves-gaining-momentum/ 28. ROCKETS: The Rockets lost four games convincingly to quality opponents this week, giving up nearly 130 points per 100 possessions in the process. Jalen Green led the team with 24 points per game on 41% 3-point shooting. https://theathletic.com/4326780/2023/03/27/nba-power-rankings-week-24/ 28. Houston Rockets (previously 27th) | 18-57 | -8.6 net rating Weekly slate: Loss to Warriors, Loss at Grizzlies, Loss at Grizzlies, Loss at Cavs One burning question: What the hell is happening here? A lot of the things you hear about the Houston Rockets rebuild don’t sound good. Veteran players (maybe with negative intentions) seem to call out that there isn’t any accountability within the roster and the approach. Stephen Silas is unbelievably frustrated with what’s happening on the court. And there appears to be a complacency and acceptance of just getting blown out a lot of nights. There was a little progress recently and it got dashed this week. I, personally, still love the talent and potential of this roster, but the Rockets have to find a way to implement more direction and accountability to foster growth. https://www.nba.com/news/power-rankings-2022-23-week-24 #28↓ HOUSTON ROCKETS Record: 18-57 OffRtg: 110.2 (27) DefRtg: 118.7 (29) NetRtg: -8.6 (29) Pace: 99.6 (15) The Rockets played a top-three defense on the road on Wednesday. They had two guys – Jalen Green and Kenyon Martin Jr. — with more than 30 points, another – Alperen Sengun – with 25, and a fourth – Kevin Porter Jr. — with a triple-double. They scored 125 points on just 97 possessions (the fourth most efficient game for any team against the Grizzlies this season) … and lost, allowing more than 130 points per 100 possessions for the eighth time. Two nights later and in the same building, they made it nine, with the Grizzlies’ 151 points on 102 possessions being the third most efficient game for any team this season. The Rockets’ defense was also responsible for the top spot on that list, a loss to the Thunder in early February. Technically, the Rockets are an improved defensive team, having allowed 2.3 more points per 100 possessions than they did last season, because the league average has gone up more (+2.6). But improvement from 30th to 29th on defense probably won’t be a bullet point in the e-mail blast for season-ticket renewals. And it would be interesting to know how much better this team would have been if it just got back in transition. The Rockets have allowed 27.3 transition points per game, according to Synergy tracking, crushing their own record (for the 19 seasons of Synergy data) of 25.0 last season. That’s now two years of bad habits. Houston has also allowed 14.6 3-pointers per game, 1.3 more than any other team and the second most for any team in the 44 seasons of the 3-point line (topped only by the 14.8 that the Bucks allowed in their championship season two years ago). The Rockets (still) don’t take a lot of mid-range shots, and they don’t force many either. Their opponents have 4.4 times as many 3-point attempts as mid-range attempts, the league’s highest opponent rate. Week 24: @ NYK, @ BKN, vs. DET, vs. LAL
