Houston Rockets' Offensive Balance Is a Big Reason for Their Sucess

The Houston Rockets continued to take care of business on their season-long, six-game homestand. In a tougher than expected game against the Chicago Bulls, the Rockets held onto a 117-114 victory for their sixth straight win.

The Rockets were led in scoring by Jalen Green, who scored 28 points, and Fred VanVleet, who finished with 23 points. VanVleet kept the Rockets in the game when they were struggling in the second quarter. VanVleet had 18 points in the second period as he changed from a playmaker role to being more aggressive on offense.

The win moved the Rockets to 43-25 and second place in the Western Conference, with the Denver Nuggets falling to the Washington Wizards on a Jordan Poole game-winner. The Rockets' 43 wins of the season followed a similar script as most of the Rocket's wins this season. Sharing the basketball, no one player has to score 40 points to win, and everyone contributes.

The Rockets finished with all five starters scoring double figures and three of those players scoring 20+ points. The Rockets have had three players score 20+ points in three of the past six games. Sunday night's victory is a perfect example of how the Rockets have had balance scoring all season.

Long gone are the days when the Rockets needed James Harden to score 45 points for the Rockets to have a chance to win a game. As great as Harden was this becomes a problem on the rare nights Harden is off his game and especially in the playoffs.

Ime Udoka, from day one, has said that he does not want the offensive burden to fall on one player. The Rockets have seven players who are on pace to finish averaging ten or more points a game and playing half the season or more. That would be the first time a Rockets team has done that since the 2014-15 team.

The Rockets have won with defense, rebounding and balance scoring all season long. The Rockets do not have anyone scoring more than 21 points a game, and that makes a difference as teams can not focus on just one player when they are drawing up their defensive game plan.

One night, Alperen Sengun may lead the team in points. In another game, it may be Tari Eason scoring a career-high 30 points as he did in the win over the Dallas Mavericks. There have even been games where Dillon Brooks or Amen Thompson has led the team in scoring.

The balanced scoring fits with the rest of the Rockets' game. They lead the league in rebounding and are a top-five defensive team. Both can only be achieved if your team is all on the same page. That bodes well for a potential upcoming Rocket's playoff series which would be the first in four seasons because it is extremely difficult to win a playoff series if you don't have excellent team chemistry.

Dillon Brooks explains the Rockets' mindset before the season, which fits this team perfectly.

"Sometimes you, sometimes me, and always us," Brooks said.

That mantra has been the main reason the Rockets are on the verge of playoff basketball for the first time since 2020.

“Sometimes you, sometimes me, and always us”

Great win, last night. Running it back tonight. Show up loud and proud.

Let’s keep this going H-Town 🤘 pic.twitter.com/sKaq163KW1
— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) November 23, 2024

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