Finally getting some real national respect?
Earlier this week, NBA.com released its updated power rankings. The Houston Rockets rose from spot 10 to spot eight, which puts them behind only the Denver Nuggets, Golden State Warriors, Oklahoma City Thunder, Minnesota Timberwolves, and the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western conference.
Houston’s record at the time of the rankings was 46-26, which included a nine-game winning streak before losing to the Denver Nuggets on Sunday, March 23. Houston now has a record of 47-26. Houston’s Offensive rating was 114.3, which is 12th best in the NBA; their defensive rating was 109.7, which is fourth best; their net rating was +4.6, which is fifth best; and they played at a pace of 98.8 (possessions per game), which is 19th best.
Perhaps the biggest story for Houston last week was the return of starting forward Amen Thompson after he was sidelined for six games with an ankle sprain. Alongside the return of Thompson, the double big lineup with Alperen Sengun was used, and continued to see success. In 101 total minutes with both big men on the court, the Rockets have outscored their opponents by 85 points (dominating the glass and giving up just 88 points per 100 possessions).
What is interesting is that despite the return of Thompson, Udoka stuck to a small lineup playing only eight players, but seven of those eight rotation guys (all except Adams) averaged at least 15.2 points per game over the winning streak. The Rockets scored 120.2 points per 100 possessions over the nine games, up from 111.2 over their first seven games out of the All-Star break.
Perhaps the one main concern for Houston is free-throw shooting. The Rockets rank last in free-throw percentage at 74.1%, with their win in Miami on Friday (10-for-21) being the second time they’ve shot below 50% from the line. (Only two other occasions have all other teams come together.) They played better than they did against Denver over the weekend (22-for-34, 65%), but if they had shot the league average, they would have made five more free throws (in a five-point defeat). They’ve had two games this season where shooting the league average from the line would have turned a loss into a win. However Houston did shoot 89.7 versus Atlanta Tuesday night.
Four games left for the Rockets against teams with losing records, three of which are this week. They are currently 27-8 versus that group, and their most recent defeat came in Utah. Houston looks to get revenge on Thursday, when they will start a three-game road trip.