The quirky scheduling gap courtesy of the NBA Cup allowed the Houston Rockets a respite and provided an opportunity for early-season reflection.
The Rockets host the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday following a four-day hiatus since their 122-109 road loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday. That setback came on the second night of a back-to-back and marked a second consecutive game without center Alperen Sengun, who is scheduled to return against the Clippers after being sidelined with an illness.
Despite having their rotation impacted by injuries over the first quarter of their schedule, the Rockets are currently fourth in the Western Conference. Their fast start is the byproduct of both a top-five offense and defense, and a testament to their cohesion after acquiring future Hall of Famer Kevin Durant during the offseason.
“I think we’ve been good. We want to be great,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said. “You look at the record overall, and there are some positives there, but we also feel like we’ve let some slip away, and are trying to find the areas we’ve grown or had some slippage in. Overall good, but we’re trying to be better than good.
“For the most part, when your plus/minus (+10.8 net rating) is where we’re at, and offensively and defensively where we’re at, we’ll take some good strides, especially with Kevin being integrated. But we understand there’s a whole other level we can get to.”
Finding that next level has become the primary goal for the Rockets. They should welcome back Tari Eason (oblique) and Dorian Finney-Smith (ankle), who has yet to play this season, in the coming weeks. Their returns should bolster an effective rotation, albeit one thinned by attrition.
Given their current success, the Rockets have reason for optimism once they are made whole.
“This year, everybody knows their role,” Sengun said. “Nobody is trying to do anything extra. Everybody knows what to do.
“The only thing with this team is winning. No matter who’s playing good or bad, it doesn’t matter. It’s just about the winning end of the night, and that’s what we’re trying to build here. That’s what we’re working on.”
Earlier this season, when the Clippers first displayed signs of being a subpar defensive unit, Clippers coach Tyronn Lue addressed the shortcomings and outlined a path for development.
“Just getting off to better starts, to start the game defensively and not easing our way into it, we’ve got to be better with that,” Lue said. “Just attacking the game with a defensive mindset. We’ve got to figure out a way to fix that and correct that.”
The Clippers, who dropped seven of their last eight games, have yet to make those corrections. They rank 25th in the NBA in defensive rating and surrendered 118 points per 100 possessions during the eight-game slump.
The Clippers have allowed fewer than 100 points only twice this season, including their 115-92 road win over the Atlanta Hawks on Dec. 3.
The Clippers are 1-3 on their five-game road trip that ends in Houston. After routing Atlanta, they dropped both sets of a back-to-back against the Memphis Grizzlies last Friday and the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday.
