After a rough mid-season stretch, the Rockets look ready for takeoff as the countdown to the end of the regular season begins.
The Houston Rockets spent the early months of the season as one of the surprise teams in the NBA. They are a squad with numerous young players still in the process of developing their skills, and improvements were expected coming off a 41-41 campaign last year.
The Rockets exceeded those expectations, boasting a 32-15 start that had them sitting as the No. 2 seed in the West at the end of January.
The NBA season can be a series of highs and lows, though, and February was a rough patch for Houston. Fred VanVleet missed the entire month with an ankle injury, while Jabari Smith Jr. missed the majority of it with a fractured hand. Their defense, although still top 10 in the league for the month, was not as stifling as it had been, and their offense struggled. After averaging 114.0 points per game through the start of the season to the end of January, they averaged just 108.1 points per game in February.
With a struggling offense and a step backwards on defense, the Rockets went just 5-7 in February and fell to No. 5 in a crowded Western Conference.
The beginning of March didn’t go much better. After a loss at home to the Kings, they embarked on a three-game road trip that started with losses to the Thunder and Pacers, leaving Houston Houston with a 5-10 record in its last 15 games.
A visit to New Orleans on March 6 ended in a 109-97 win, and then two days later, another win over the Pelicans saw the Rockets score a season-high 146 points. Their winning ways continued with victories over the Magic and the Suns, and now Houston is on the doorstep of reclaiming the No. 2 seed in the West, at just 1.0 game back.
Over this four-game stretch, their smothering defense has returned, earning a league-best 104.7 defensive rating since March 5. They’ve also averaged 115.8 points per game, a number much more in line with their earlier season success.
To make matters even better for Houston, they were able to get VanVleet back in their lineup for Wednesday’s win over Phoenix, although they’ll likely remain without Amen Thompson for another week or two, while he tends to a sprained ankle.
Looking ahead, the Rockets have a favorable schedule during the stretch run to the end of the regular season. They’ll start by finishing off a six-game homestand with games against the Mavericks, Bulls and 76ers, all teams below .500. They’ll then travel to Florida for games against the Magic and Heat, both also south of the .500 mark. They’ll then return home for a showdown with the Nuggets on March 23, with the potential for the No. 2 seed to be on the line, and after beating Denver earlier this season, the opportunity to clinch the tiebreaker between the two.
If recent results are any indicator, with Houston’s return to form offensively and defensively, they’re poised to finish the season strong. Combined with the return of VanVleet to their lineup, and pending the return of Thompson, the Rockets are primed to make noise in the West and could find themselves flying up the standings in the final weeks of the season.
