Efficiency Is Becoming An Issue For The Rockets

For a significant stretch to start the season, the Houston Rockets were one of the most dominant offenses in the league. They buried teams with their high-efficiency shooting, and their elite defense assisted with their dominating efforts.

The Rockets have still been able to put up points, despite some struggles in recent months. Their offensive efficiency as a team and as individuals has taken a hit as the Rockets have gotten deeper into the season. They'll be looking to clean up their offensive games to end the season in an attempt to return to their early season dominance.

One issue is that the Rockets aren't still grabbing offensive rebounds at a historic rate due to the injury to Steven Adams.

Houston still devours boards with Jabari Smith Jr., Amen Thompson, and Alperen Sengun grabbing over seven per game. However, Thompson and Sengun average about three offensive rebounds per game, a steep drop from Adams' over four offensive rebounds per game.

Rebounding is still a major advantage for the Rockets, but it's no longer such a strong advantage that the team can rely on it when their shots aren't falling or when they are giving away possessions with high turnovers.

The offensive glass helped the team stay efficient and steal a few extra possessions, even when some of their initial attempts aren't clean.

Now, there's added pressure on making sure the first shot is a good one. The Rockets don't neccessarily have the personnel to insure that happens on a consistent basis.

Kevin Durant is always the team's best offensive option. His efficiency hasn't dropped a bit, nearly reaching the 50-40-90 threshold held only by the most elite scorers and shooters in basketball history. However, he is one of the most turnover-prone players on the team due to Houston's reliance on him to create offense for himself from the perimeter.

When he's on fire, the Rockets are justified in their dependence. When he's off, the Rockets don't have the best counters to mitigate the impact.

Reed Sheppard was believed to be one of those counter moves, but Head Coach Ime Udoka has had to weigh his defensive limits against his offensive benefits, often being swayed by the former.

Sengun's efficiency has become a serious issue, as he is not converting looks he knocked down consistently to begin the season. He's shooting sub-50 percent from the field, less than 30 percent from three-point land, and less than 70 percent from the free throw line.

He hasn't been known as a dead-eye shooter from outside, but as a big with such advanced touch, it has been a difficult adjustment for the rest of the team when he can't finish his opportunities. He also isn't creating as many opportunities for others, taking away Houston's one true playmaking threat due to the team's lack of a lead guard.

The Rockets must address and improve their efficiency issues before the season is over. They can't rely on their defense and rebounding in the postseason because neither are elite enough to beat the league's best without efficient scoring.