Rockets Could Be Exposed in Playoffs

The Houston Rockets have a weakness that could be their undoing in the playoffs.

Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun handles the ball inside against Oklahoma City Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein. | Erik Williams-Imagn Images

The Houston Rockets are coming into the postseason with one of the best records in the NBA, but that doesn't make them a perfect team.

ESPN analyst Kevin Pelton highlights the team's half-court offense as the biggest weakness Houston faces going into the postseason.

"Back at full strength, Houston has improved in half-court execution since last month, when I noted it was 26th in points per play on its first attempt to score outside of transition, according to Cleaning the Glass. The Rockets are up to 22nd, still the worst among above-.500 teams but no longer such a historic outlier for a contending team," Pelton writes.

"Overall, Houston's offense ranks 11th in per possession scoring because the Rockets compensate by aggressively crashing the offensive glass (they're No. 1 in the league by a wide margin in points per missed shot, according to Cleaning the Glass) and getting out in transition. Houston's rate of half-court plays is seventh lowest.

"Still, those easy points tend to dry up in the playoffs. The 2022-23 Knicks, another team that relied heavily on second chances, crashed from fourth in offensive rating during the regular season to 13th in the playoffs, winning a rock fight with Cleveland in the first round before being knocked off by the Miami Heat."

The Rockets will have just a few games to correct these errors, beginning with Wednesday's matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers. Tipoff for the game is set for 9:30 p.m. CT from inside the Intuit Dome. Fans can watch the game on Space City Home Network or stream it on NBA League Pass.