After last year’s disappointing 41-41 season, it looked like the NBA’s Houston Rockets were a team headed in the wrong direction. The drop off in 2015-16 was quite unexpected was quite unexpected after they made it to the 2014-15 Western Conference Finals (where they lost to the Golden State Warriors 4-1).
It’s hard to identify exactly why the Rockets looked so ordinary last year, but the problems included nagging injuries, trade rumors and a team chemistry that just never seemed to develop. After the team got off to a bad start, Head Coach Kevin McHale was fired, leaving J.B. Bickerstaff to handle the interim head coaching duties.
In the offseason, Mike D’Antoni was named the new head coach.
As far as changes in personnel, oft injured Dwight Howard opted for one last deal through free agency, while the Rockets added two premier outside shooters in Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon.
With a team that is decidedly smaller and quicker, it makes sense that D’Antoni has chosen to play at a faster pace and keep pressure on opponents.
About a third of the way through the season, the results have been resoundingly positive as they sit in second place in the Southwest Division with an outstanding record of 20-7.
As of December 16, the team is sitting on a 10-game winning streak that started with a road victory over defending conference champions the Golden State Warriors. With the team playing so well, it’s not surprising to see many of the top gambling websites lowering their odds on the Rockets to win the conference and NBA Championships.
As usual, superstar forward/guard James Harden leads the way in scoring with 27.7 PPG, good enough for 6th in the league.
Surprisingly, he not only leads the NBA in assists with 11.8 per game, but he’s also currently more than one full assist ahead of the next closest player, Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma Thunder.
Harden’s tenacious style is proving to be perfectly suited for D’Antoni’s fast-paced offensive scheme.
The two new kids on the block, Gordon and Anderson, have proven to be a boon. Gordon is second on the team in scoring, averaging 17.4 PPG while hitting over 44% of his 3-point tries. Anderson has also proven to be quite proficient from behind the arc, shooting over 39%, while averaging 13.0 PPG.
The biggest improvement on the team has come from 3rd-year center Clint Capela, who has upped his average to 11.9 PPG while leading the team in rebounding at 8.1 RPG.
Aside from Harden, it’s not a roster of big name stars propelling the Rockets. While team chemistry was a big issue in last year’s debacle, it would appear the Rockets now have that which was missing last season. Make no mistake about it, this is a team that can do some damage as long as they stay healthy and hungry.