We're an average defensive team in the NBA. 16th. And if you're suggesting that we're an average defensive team by NCAA standards... You know what? What the **** am I doing here? The GARM may not be as stupid as the ESPN boards, but it's pretty damn close.
Fans over look defense because the stats for it aren't sexy like PER or shot percentage. The coaches probably over look it because they aren't that great at their jobs when it comes to teaching. The only Rockets player in two seasons that has shown improvement on the defensive end under McHale is probably Greg Smith. He was horrible before and didn't try at the start of the season, by the end he was looking like a legit big man that some uninformed announcers believed was a second round pick. They consistently fall back on the idea of the youth of the team being this insurmountable wall, despite the fact that there have been young players on other teams that have LEARNED how to play defense and offense as a unit by the end of the season which is something you can't say for this team.
Technically, we are Average with Asik on the court, I remember hearing whenever Asik is removed from the court or not playing at his usual level, the team drops to near bottom.