Flexibility Is Not A Strength For The Rockets

The Houston Rockets will be one of the best defensive and rebounding teams for the foreseeable future. Head Coach Ime Udoka has ensured that during his tenure, he will be coaching a team that fits his ideal vision for a basketball team. Udoka brought structure to a team that was lacking it, creating quality habits and a desire to win for players who had never experienced winning in their NBA careers.

That structure has turned somewhat into stubborness as the team has grown and changed. Udoka has new players and skill sets to work with, but his stringent emphasis on his basketball philosophy might be running the team into some natural limitations.

Udoka's offensive gameplan seems simple in theory, meant to empower each player on the floor to make decisions based on what the defense is providing. Players often wait in the dunker spot, flare out for open threes, or cut into the paint from the perimeter.

However, Houston's offensive sets generally start with either a pick-and-roll, or isolation. There aren't often multiple drives per possession by ball handlers, and there isn't usually enough shooting to create enough potential reactions for ball handlers who do get into the paint.

This season, Kevin Durant, Amen Thompson, and Reed Sheppard were asked to be the main initiators from the perimeter. These Rockets begin possessions by receiving a screen from either Alperen Şengün, Jabari Smith Jr., or Clint Capela.

If Thompson is involved in the screen, it's highly likely he plans to attack the rim, shoot a moving mid-range, or dump the ball off to Şengün in the middle. From there, Şengün has the opportunity to make his own decisions, choosing whether to continue to the rim, make a second pass, or slow things down to work the defense in isolation. Durant and Sheppard have the same options as Thompson in a pick-and-roll, with the added threat of a three-point shot after a screen.

The problem is, there aren't enough decisions being made at a high enough rate to truly make defenses uncomfortable. The Rockets often fall back into isolation sets, despite not having elite isolation players across the board.

Durant and Şengün are the team's best iso players, but Durant was asked to beat double-teams off the dribble, and Şengün had another rough season with his consistency at the rim against one-one-one defenders.

The Rockets have the pieces to be much more creative on offense, and not solely rely on offensive rebounds, turnovers, or stops on defense to create transition opportunities. More drives, more movement of players and the ball, and returning to their players' natural strengths could elevate Houston's offense next season.

Fred VanVleet should help some of the offensive organization, but the offense will still remain a read-and-react style of scoring. However, the goal should always be to force the defense to make as many reads as possible, and to react quickly when they finally make a mistake. The team's refusal to adjust on that end makes the job easy for defenses, especially in the playoffs when mistakes don't happen frequently.

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