Houston are LEGIT!!!

[Frankie]

Houston's a good team. They're 2nd in the West for a reason. Do not read the below as me making excuses.

Houston was better than Cleveland on each of those individual nights. Mobley was out for one of those games and not himself for the second in his first game back from injury, and Cleveland had to play a game in between those Houston matchups while Houston didn't. The Cavs were also missing Okoro and LeVert, which meant that the Cavs didn't have the length to contest many 3-point shots.

Houston shot 44%, 46%, and 41% from three in those games. They are a 34% three-point shooting team on the season. Did Houston figure something out as a team, or are they just on a hot streak that could fade at any moment? How reliably does Dillon Brooks go 10/15 from three?

I'm not gonna lie man, those do sound like excuses.

I mean no disrespect. Everyone suffers injuries (to varying degrees of severity). We were missing Jabari and Jalen Green has been playing with a hand injury since the Kings game. We were missing Jabari and Whitmore last night. Cavs might have taken one or both games with a fully healthy team. Who knows. Given that we beat the Celtics on the road, I feel like there's a good chance we would have taken both games vs Cavs anyway, fully healthy or not.

The 3 point shooting definitely feels like a hot streak. Obviously, Brooks shooting 10/15 is not something we can replicate consistently lol.

[DaddyCool19]

Once Alpi and Amen become respectable 3P shooters, like 32-34% on 3 attempts they could really go really far. Hope for some extra internal growth with Jabari, Jalen and Tari and they could really have a scary team.

[jasonxxx102]

Yea I think they are a really fun and really good team. I love the suggestion of swapping Green for Lavine, I think that would improve the offense tremendously.

They are really going to struggle in the playoffs in the halfcourt on offense when the game slows down. They are definitely a piece away from being a legit title contender.

My problem with that idea is…despite some of my fellow Knicks fans accusing me of being Lavine’s agent for how often I ended up having to defend him on our board…that Zach is a bad decision maker in crunch time and in the playoffs Houston’s going to need a closer who they can just give the ball to & ask to win them the game.

Green could still figure things out enough to be that guy for them…whereas with Lavine we know he’s not that guy. He’s a great 3rd best player / 2nd option when healthy, but he makes too many ridiculous decisions to be the guy down the stretch unless he’s just unconsciously hot & it doesn’t matter if he’s chucking up garbage.

Well neither Green nor Lavine are #1s so it's not like Green could be the guy. We know what Green is and he's a much less efficient version of Lavine. So I wasn't coming at it from the perspective of getting a guy who's gonna be an alpha in big playoff games but he's most definitely an upgrade in all areas over Green.

[dWadeOwnzYou]

I will root for them to win the NBA championship. Their time is due. Dark horse of the league.

[ClutchCity713]

Hey Rockets fans.

Is Amen your best player?
Who comes off the bench when Smith Jr comes back?
Should the Rockets trade Reed for a win now piece?

At the moment I think the more proven commodities (Sengun and Green) are, but Amen is on the track to me. Heck, I still believe Cam Whitmore has great potential to be our best player too with experience.

I think Jabari would come off the bench when he gets back. Rockets have been playing really well in his absence. Amen deserves to start.

I dont expect the Rockets making a big move at the deadline. Honestly for the first time in a while I actually want them to stand pat. Maybe a minor trade like Robert Williams but nothing major. Now after the season all bets are off. It really depends on if Vanvleet is back or not. Reed definitely will be involved in trades this offseason while he has any sort of value. He wont be the headliner but he can be a nice addition to the headliner.

[Bornstellar]

They're a good team but they're young and a lot of their main guys (Green, Thompson, Sengun, Smith, Eason, etc) have no playoff experience. They are having a nice RS but will likely be in for a rude awakening come playoff time

[ocelot17]

It took 10 three pointers made from Dillon Brooks with DWhite, Horford and Hauser all out for the Celtics for the Rockets to pull out a 2 point win against the Celtics. I give Houston 100% credit but I wouldn't use the word "dismantle".

You want to make excuses yet you conveniently forgot to mention cam whitmore and Jabari were out last night. They’re better than white and horford.

[ocelot17]

Houston's a good team. They're 2nd in the West for a reason. Do not read the below as me making excuses.

Houston was better than Cleveland on each of those individual nights. Mobley was out for one of those games and not himself for the second in his first game back from injury, and Cleveland had to play a game in between those Houston matchups while Houston didn't. The Cavs were also missing Okoro and LeVert, which meant that the Cavs didn't have the length to contest many 3-point shots.

Houston shot 44%, 46%, and 41% from three in those games. They are a 34% three-point shooting team on the season. Did Houston figure something out as a team, or are they just on a hot streak that could fade at any moment? How reliably does Dillon Brooks go 10/15 from three?

Cavs aren’t as good as their record shows. They’re just padding wins in a an incredibly weak conference. Nobody is worried about okoro or lavert, besides both Jabari and whitmore are better and they didn’t play.

Jabari was out and cam whitmore was sick, that’s why he only played 10 minutes in the last game.

[itrsteve]

I will root for them to win the NBA championship. Their time is due. Dark horse of the league.

Silver would melt inside if a darkhorse came out of the west and robbed the whole thing. I bet most NBA casuals would have a hard time naming a single player on the rockets.

It's a beautiful thing when OKC, Memphis and Houston lead the west given the list of big names who get the lionshare of media attention and marquee games within the western conference.

We got a good preview last season of the changing of the guard and hopefully this playoff series continues that trend.

[MoreyWins]

They're a good team but they're young and a lot of their main guys (Green, Thompson, Sengun, Smith, Eason, etc) have no playoff experience. They are having a nice RS but will likely be in for a rude awakening come playoff time

I don't know how much worse the offense can get in the playoffs, but the defense will 100% translate. It always does in the playoffs, even for young teams. Winning a round would exceed preseason expectations, but right now it looks completely possible.

[PistolPeteJR]

Amen looks legit legit, MVP level potential.

I’m seriously super impressed. And I didn’t think he’d be this good this fast.

[JonFromVA]

The Rockets will go as far as the refs let their elbows and hook moves carry them.

[Celts17Pride]

It took 10 three pointers made from Dillon Brooks with DWhite, Horford and Hauser all out for the Celtics for the Rockets to pull out a 2 point win against the Celtics. I give Houston 100% credit but I wouldn't use the word "dismantle".

You want to make excuses yet you conveniently forgot to mention cam whitmore and Jabari were out last night. They’re better than white and horford.

I didn't make excuses for the Rockets winning, my whole point was the Rockets didn't "dismantle" the Celtics. I gave the Rockets 100% credit. Read the post.

[davidv2001]

Decent offense, but remarkable defense.

I'm always surprised when teams are able to succeed with a sinkhole like FVV in the starting lineup, especially when they blow overall from 3 as a team (and really at hitting shots in general). But they crush the offensive glass, don't turn it over and are monsters on the other end.

They're going to be interesting over the remainder of the season.

Despite poor overall shooting numbers, VanVleet brings a lot to this Rockets’ team. First, he’s the floor general and the extension of Udoka on the court for the young guys. Second, with Thompson and Sengun starting, his floor spacing is needed, and he’s not afraid to take shots in clutch moments. He essentially won the first Cavs’ game for the Rockets by getting hot from the three-point line and making many clutch shots late in the game.

[reamily]

There's a possibility that reed sheppard be the best player of this team base on potential..for amen play making still a concern as he is a recipient of hockey passes from his team mates..look at the sacramento game where kings back court expose him and green..

Care to explain your logic on that? Amen is a freak athlete among freak athletes, and is already showing an improved midrange/pull up game. His on ball defense has been insane lately. What has Sheppard shown to make you think that? Shooting at a good clip at Kentucky for a year? This isn't a knock on Sheppard, but Amen has some of the highest potential in the league.

Nba still a 3 point shooting game if sengun is a poor mans sabonis.. jalen green is a poorman lavine and even amen thompson as a rich man wiggins... A poor mans curry defensive minded trae young might be still the best player on that bunch.. the only issue to reed is his size..

[tsherkin]

Despite poor overall shooting numbers, VanVleet brings a lot to this Rockets’ team. First, he’s the floor general and the extension of Udoka on the court for the young guys. Second, with Thompson and Sengun starting, his floor spacing is needed, and he’s not afraid to take shots in clutch moments. He essentially won the first Cavs’ game for the Rockets by getting hot from the three-point line and making many clutch shots late in the game.

I'm aware of FVV from his days as a Raptor. He is mostly pretty crap as a scorer, but he has a few qualities which make him not total crap to a team, for sure. Best used as a 6th man, though, leastwise from the POV of developing quality offense. He's definitely holding them back a little by sucking that badly as a scorer.

[davidv2001]

Despite poor overall shooting numbers, VanVleet brings a lot to this Rockets’ team. First, he’s the floor general and the extension of Udoka on the court for the young guys. Second, with Thompson and Sengun starting, his floor spacing is needed, and he’s not afraid to take shots in clutch moments. He essentially won the first Cavs’ game for the Rockets by getting hot from the three-point line and making many clutch shots late in the game.

I'm aware of FVV from his days as a Raptor. He is mostly pretty crap as a scorer, but he has a few qualities which make him not total crap to a team, for sure. Best used as a 6th man, though, leastwise from the POV of developing quality offense. He's definitely holding them back a little by sucking that badly as a scorer.

Yes, it would be great if VanVleet wasn’t shooting 39% from the floor. That said, he’s not a primary scorer for the Rockets. Sengun and Jalen Green are their number one and two options. Fred was their third option until Amen Thompson’s recent breakout, and now he’s their third or fourth option.

[tsherkin]

Yes, it would be great if VanVleet wasn’t shooting 39% from the floor. That said, he’s not a primary scorer for the Rockets. Sengun and Jalen Green are their number one and two options. Fred was their third option until Amen Thompson’s recent breakout, and now he’s now their third or fourth option.

Yep, and the less he shoots, the better.

[reamily]

Fred and brooks are emergency first options if ever one of the three guys you mentioned have an off night..And yes salary fillers business wise up until green and sengun consume their second contracts..

[phanman]

I think the offensive issues are overblown for the Rockets, they are 12th in ORTG this year. It's going to be interesting decision for Ime when Jabari comes back because there is no way Amen should be going back to the bench.

With a 44.8m team option next season that Houston is likely to decline, I think they should consider bringing Fred off the bench. It should help with his inefficiency and provide a boost to the second unit with him still being able to operate on ball. With Sengun and Thompson still in the starting unit there should still be enough playmaking to make it work but most importantly give Green and Amen the on ball reps to continue to develop.

The first round in the West is going to be so intriguing with the younger cores in OKC, Houston and Memphis occupying the top seeds only to be rewarded with a first round matchup against potential veteran-laden teams in the Clippers, T'Wolves, Suns, Mavericks, Kings or Dubs.