Alperen Sengun finishes with 22 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists in an overtime win vs. the Timberwolves.
They’ve gone from becoming a soap opera after trading one of the franchise’s greatest players to what they are now: the young and the restless. These are the Houston Rockets, trending north in the Western Conference, maybe ahead of schedule.
The revamped Rockets are in second place in the competitive Western Conference, giving them a sense of belonging even with Christmas still three weeks away. And they’ve reached the Knockout Rounds of the Emirates NBA Cup, where they’ll play the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday (9:30 p.m. ET, TNT).
The rapid rise comes as a bit of a surprise, given their troubles digging out of the rubble caused by the James Harden trade on Jan. 14, 2021.
After two straight seasons of finishing 44 and 30.5 games out of first place, the Rockets finally showed promise last season when they improved by 19 wins. Now they trail only the Oklahoma City Thunder — a team they beat a few days ago — in the West standings.
Those down years resulted in high Draft picks, and along came Alperen Sengun, Jalen Green, Jabari Smith Jr., Tari Eason, Cam Whitmore and Amen Thompson — all of whom are in the current rotation. Houston added veterans Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks in 2023 to provide veteran leadership, toughness and direction.
And they’re steered by Ime Udoka, perhaps the early, early front-runner for Coach of the Year.
The Rockets have lost by double-digits only once this season (a 126-107 loss in Oklahoma City on Nov. 8) and recently avenged that loss. They also beat the Minnesota Timberwolves — a Western Conference finalist in 2023-24 — in overtime on Nov. 26.
“We’re building on last year, the mindset of who we want to be going forward,” Udoka said.
With an emphasis on defense and ball sharing, the Rockets are shouting their arrival with a bullhorn. Yes, this is different in the post-Harden era.
“Winning is fun,” Sengun said. “We are happy.”
Here are four reasons the Rockets are happily rolling in the West — and one area in which they need to improve:
1. Udoka demands defense. Until other parts of their game mature, the Rockets are leaning on defense. It’s a good mindset to adopt and grow, especially among young players who sometimes don’t grasp the importance of defense right away — at least until it’s time to compete for championships.
Udoka isn’t giving them a choice: It’s either play defense or take a seat. Also, the rotation is filled with athletic types who can trap and cut off passing lanes and are quick to the ball.
𝐈𝐦𝐞 𝐔𝐝𝐨𝐤𝐚: 𝐖𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡 😤
Congratulations Coach 👏 pic.twitter.com/qmiVpXrG8L
— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) December 3, 2024
Warriors coach Steve Kerr said recently: “They are definitely playing to Ime’s identity, and that means tough defense, physical and playing hard.”
The Rockets rank No. 4 in opponent points per game, No. 2 in opponent field goal percentage and opponent fast-break points, No. 3 in defensive rating and opponent points off turnovers and lead the NBA in rebounding. In a win against the Knicks, the Rockets allowed just 40 second-half points and in the Dec. 1 win vs. the Thunder, OKC was held to 20 fourth-quarter points.
2. VanVleet came to compete. His rich free-agent contract raised eyebrows. Not that VanVleet was a marginal player with the Raptors, but $130 million for someone without a string of All-Star appearances seemed steep. He’ll make nearly $43 million with one of the league’s 20 highest salaries this season.
This was due to great timing, though. The Rockets were well under the cap, and they craved the 30-year-old’s example on the floor and inside the locker room. VanVleet started slowly this season, shooting 28.2% in his first six games. Then he caught fire with a 10-for-11 night against the Spurs in mid-November which stabilized him and the Rockets as well.
“I will shoot it any time,” VanVleet said. “Zero-for-20, 20-for-20. I play every game like it’s my last. I play to win. I don’t play for Twitter. I don’t play for stats. I play to win every game.”
That was apparent when he dropped 38 points on the Thunder with just one turnover in 35 minutes. VanVleet came to the Rockets to be a leader, which is easier to do when you also lead by example — teammates are less likely to tune you out.
“Fred’s a pro, been there and done that,” Udoka said.
3. Sengun is Houston’s best player. Sengun’s challenge after getting a five-year, $185 million contract extension was to get in better physical shape and improve on what was a breakout 2023-24. The conditioning is acceptable and he has resumed the pace after a slow start. He averaged 15.2 points and 12.4 rebounds per game in October before reaching 19.9 ppg and 10.1 rpg in November.
𝐀𝐥𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧 𝐒𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐧: 𝐖𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐞𝐞𝐤 🤩
Got a nice ring to it 😏 pic.twitter.com/1YNie93emm
— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) December 2, 2024
His game isn’t analytics friendly but maybe that’s why he’s effective: he’s a low-post player with good footwork and soft hands who doesn’t space the floor or jack up 3-pointers. He’s a throwback, essentially, and there’s still room for those types in today’s game.
Best part? He’s only 22 and much like others in the rotation is just tapping his prime.
4. The youngsters are less reckless. The Rockets, quite understandably, dealt with growing pains over the past few years, mainly due to inexperience and poor execution late in games.
Not so much now. The Rockets are winning fourth quarters thanks to smarter decision-making. They rank No. 6 in fourth-quarter net rating and, late in games, there are fewer wild shots as the ball finds the right player at the right time. There’s a revolving door of “heroes” in these situations as the Rockets are without a designated savior — the rare team without a 20-point scorer.
Houston’s 13.4 turnovers per game rank No. 7 overall (last season, they were No. 8 with 12.7 tpg).
Where they can improve: Houston won’t beat many teams in a shooting contest. That’s the one area that separates the Rockets from other teams sitting near or at the top of both conferences. Their 33.1% on 3-pointers ranks No. 26 in the NBA (even though they are 15th overall with 791 3-point attempts) and have the lowest overall shooting percentage of teams with winning records.
“We’re still not making the shots that we used to make,” said Sengun, and that’s why the Rockets often win ugly.
VanVleet and Green are the team’s volume 3-point shooters and they’re both sub-34%. Before the season began, some observers thought rookie Reed Sheppard would splash as much as Dalton Knecht has done for the Los Angeles Lakers, but Sheppard gets only 12 minutes a night.
So defense is saving the Rockets, and will continue to until players such as Green and Smith develop their range. Or maybe the Rockets, flush with young assets and draft capital, swing a deal at the trade deadline. Maybe Jimmy Butler, a Houston native?
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Shaun Powell has covered the NBA for more than 25 years. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.
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