by Team Del Genio
Sunday, Dec 31, 2023The Houston Rockets were one of the worst defensive teams in the NBA last season. By allowing 118.6 adjusted points per 100 possessions, the Rockets ranked 29th in the league in defensive efficiency. It was the fourth straight season where they had a bottom-four defense when measured by efficiency.
With Houston beginning the second phase of their rebuild under general manager Rafael Stone, improving their play on defense was a high priority. Stone hired former Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka who oversaw a significant improvement in the play of the Celtics on the defensive end of the court in 2021-22 before being suspended from the team last year for his off-the-court scandal. With those issues behind him with a new start in Houston, Udoka was given the mandate to establish a new culture.
Stone made two big splashes in the free agent market to help establish this new defensive identity. Fred VanVleet was signed for a three-year $130 million contract. Not only does VanVleet bring a championship pedigree from Toronto, but he is also one of the better on-the-ball defenders in the league. Stone also inked a four-year $86 million contract to wing defender Dillon Brooks who was selected to the all-defensive second team last year. Brooks prides himself on his defensive play which is an attitude that Udoka hopes is infectious to the core group of young players on the roster like Jalen Green, Amen Thompson, Jabari Smith, and Alperen Sengun.
The improvement in defense has been immediate and dramatic. The Rockets are holding their opponents to 109.7 points per game on 45.0% shooting from the field. Their opponents are making only 32.5% of their 3-point shots, which is the best mark in the NBA. They rank sixth in the league by allowing just 111.4 adjusted points per 100 possessions this season, an improvement of more than seven adjusted points against their defensive efficiency of last season.
Houston’s strong play on the defensive end of the court has been even more pronounced when they are playing at home. In their seventeen games at home, the Rockets are holding their opponents to 43.8% shooting from the field with these teams averaging just 105.1 points per game. Opponents are making just 31.0% of their 3-point attempts when playing in Houston, ranking as the second lowest mark in the NBA to Minnesota when taking home courts into account.
The Rockets do a good job of controlling their defensive glass. Led by Sengun who is undergoing a breakout season, Houston limits their opponents to rebounding 28.1% of their missed shots. That mark is tied with New Orleans for the tenth-best in the league.
Udoka is not emphasizing forcing turnovers. Houston is only forcing turnovers in 13.5% of their opponent's possessions, ranking 19th in the NBA. Instead, Udoka's approach is to prioritize making things difficult for their opponent to take good shots. Houston ranks second in the NBA with an opponent's effective field goal percentage of 51.6%.
Houston's efforts on defense have taken a step back as of late with Indiana, Phoenix, and Philadelphia all scoring 123 or more points against them with each of those teams making 52.3% or more of their shots against them despite all three of those games being played in Houston. Not having Brooks for those games as he nurses an abdominal injury should be considered when looking at these recent results. Those are three of the best offenses in the NBA as well. The Pacers lead the league in offensive efficiency and the 76ers rank third in offensive efficiency. The Suns rank eleventh in offensive efficiency yet should climb in those rankings with Bradley Beal back on the court.
The Rockets have held five opponents to under 100 points this season. Once Brooks gets back on the court, Houston will hold more opponents to less than 100 points. Yet despite their improved defense, the market is well aware since only sixteen of their thirty games have finished under the number.
Good luck - Team Del Genio.
With Houston beginning the second phase of their rebuild under general manager Rafael Stone, improving their play on defense was a high priority. Stone hired former Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka who oversaw a significant improvement in the play of the Celtics on the defensive end of the court in 2021-22 before being suspended from the team last year for his off-the-court scandal. With those issues behind him with a new start in Houston, Udoka was given the mandate to establish a new culture.
Stone made two big splashes in the free agent market to help establish this new defensive identity. Fred VanVleet was signed for a three-year $130 million contract. Not only does VanVleet bring a championship pedigree from Toronto, but he is also one of the better on-the-ball defenders in the league. Stone also inked a four-year $86 million contract to wing defender Dillon Brooks who was selected to the all-defensive second team last year. Brooks prides himself on his defensive play which is an attitude that Udoka hopes is infectious to the core group of young players on the roster like Jalen Green, Amen Thompson, Jabari Smith, and Alperen Sengun.
The improvement in defense has been immediate and dramatic. The Rockets are holding their opponents to 109.7 points per game on 45.0% shooting from the field. Their opponents are making only 32.5% of their 3-point shots, which is the best mark in the NBA. They rank sixth in the league by allowing just 111.4 adjusted points per 100 possessions this season, an improvement of more than seven adjusted points against their defensive efficiency of last season.
Houston’s strong play on the defensive end of the court has been even more pronounced when they are playing at home. In their seventeen games at home, the Rockets are holding their opponents to 43.8% shooting from the field with these teams averaging just 105.1 points per game. Opponents are making just 31.0% of their 3-point attempts when playing in Houston, ranking as the second lowest mark in the NBA to Minnesota when taking home courts into account.
The Rockets do a good job of controlling their defensive glass. Led by Sengun who is undergoing a breakout season, Houston limits their opponents to rebounding 28.1% of their missed shots. That mark is tied with New Orleans for the tenth-best in the league.
Udoka is not emphasizing forcing turnovers. Houston is only forcing turnovers in 13.5% of their opponent's possessions, ranking 19th in the NBA. Instead, Udoka's approach is to prioritize making things difficult for their opponent to take good shots. Houston ranks second in the NBA with an opponent's effective field goal percentage of 51.6%.
Houston's efforts on defense have taken a step back as of late with Indiana, Phoenix, and Philadelphia all scoring 123 or more points against them with each of those teams making 52.3% or more of their shots against them despite all three of those games being played in Houston. Not having Brooks for those games as he nurses an abdominal injury should be considered when looking at these recent results. Those are three of the best offenses in the NBA as well. The Pacers lead the league in offensive efficiency and the 76ers rank third in offensive efficiency. The Suns rank eleventh in offensive efficiency yet should climb in those rankings with Bradley Beal back on the court.
The Rockets have held five opponents to under 100 points this season. Once Brooks gets back on the court, Houston will hold more opponents to less than 100 points. Yet despite their improved defense, the market is well aware since only sixteen of their thirty games have finished under the number.
Good luck - Team Del Genio.
