Here is a sentence I did not expect to be writing in late December: The Warriors do not have the best record in the NBA.
Here is another one: The Houston Rockets — the team that does sit atop the standings at 25-4 — look like a legitimate threat to Golden State’s supremacy.
Alright, deep breaths. Let’s examine how the Rockets, winners of 14 straight, have already turned several skeptics into full-on believers.
The experiment of pairing a ball dominant Chris Paul (17.7 points, 9.3 assists, 5.3 rebounds) with a ball dominant James Harden (31.3 points, 9.0 assists, 5.2 rebounds — the MVP right now) is working. Quite well, actually.
The offense, functioning similarly to last season, ranks first in the NBA in rating (116.49), thanks in large part to the absurd number of threes the Rockets are hitting per game (a league-leading 15.9).
You know the basic formula: Spread the floor with dangerous shooters, put one of the two elite playmakers in the pick-and-roll with vastly improved center Clint Capela, and the rest is history. Harden and Paul have three sound options: Take it themselves, lob it up to Capela, or kick it out for an open 3-pointer. It ain’t rocket science (pun intended), but it’s successful when you have the right pieces.
Paul fits seamlessly. He hits from beyond the arc efficiently and is as good a decision-maker coming off a high screen as you’ll see. Of players who have appeared in more than 15 games, both Paul and Harden are in the top-11 in points scored per contest as a pick-and-roll ball handler. The Rockets have the luxury of always having one of them out there.
Then there’s Capela (the roll man), who leads the league in field goal percentage (69 percent) and is averaging career-highs in points (14.0), rebounds (11.3), and free throw percentage (60 percent…it has been really bad before). The primary shooters — Ryan Anderson, Trevor Ariza and Eric Gordon — all have an effective field goal percentage above 60 on spot-up looks, despite high volume. Gordon, in particular, has been outstanding, currently tied for fourth in the NBA in 3-pointers made (85).
It is progress on the other end, however, that has made the real difference for Houston. After finishing the previous year 18th in defensive rating and 26th in opponent points per game, the Rockets are sixth and 13th in those respective categories. They are also third in steals (9.3) and fourth in points off turnovers (19.0).
Much of that development has to do with the new personnel brought in this summer. Paul’s skill as a hounding perimeter defender is well-known (averaging 2.3 steals). Wings P.J. Tucker and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, both signed in the offseason, stack very highly in defensive real plus/minus — a measurement of a player’s impact on the team’s production based on the amount of points allowed per 100 defensive possessions.
And much of it has to do with the aforementioned Capela, averaging 1.8 blocks and blossoming into an excellent rim protector. He is the primary reason the Rockets are second in defensive rebound rate and surrendering just 11.7 second chance points, down from 13.8 in 2016-17.
All of those numbers add up to the more important one: We are more than a third of the way through this season, and Houston has a net rating (an estimate of point differential per 100 possessions) of 11.32, the best mark in the NBA. Yes, better than the Warriors.
“No one’s slowed them down yet. I don’t know if anyone will,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers recently told Bleacher Report.
There has not been enough talk about DeMarcus Cousins lately, or better put, not enough talk about his play, because his non-basketball related antics always garner attention.
So far this year, Cousins is averaging 26.2 points, 12.3 rebounds, a career-high 5.1 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.5 blocks on 47 percent shooting from the field. He has also continued to expand his range, nailing 71 3-pointers already (first among centers by a mile). Only caveat: The turnovers (an NBA-worst 5.1) need to come down.
This past weekend, the Portland Trail Blazers (fifth in the West at 16-14) won two games by holding their opponents to less than 92 points. They are second only to the Celtics in defensive rating, after ranking 24th last season.
In honor of Kobe Bryant’s jersey(s!) retirement ceremony, here is a list of some of his greatest accomplishments:
-Five rings and two Finals MVPs
-2007-08 MVP
-15 All-NBA selections
-12 All-Defense selections
-18 All-Star appearances
-Two scoring titles
-One not human reaction to someone threatening to throw a ball at your face