How Are The 2024-25 Houston Rockets That GOOD?

How Are The 2024-25 Houston Rockets That GOOD?

the Houston Rockets are surprisingly good this season and they’ve caught a lot of people off guard with how fast they Rose to the ranks during what was supposed to be a rebuilding era holiday on the run a three on two Quake inside it’s shenon but make no mistake about it this version of the Rockets is different from the one that featured James Harden instead of relying on one Superstar leading a history breaking offensive system this team relies on a steady diet of teamwork strong defense and good coaching that’s why this team has quickly risen through the standings and is looking to Make Some Noise by the time the playoffs start rolling but if you want to know how and why the 20242 Houston Rockets are this good you might want to stick around for a few minutes for the better part of the 2010s the Houston Rockets were synonymous with James Harden because this franchise built a winning organization around him and his incredible offense Harden was so good that he won the MVP and led the Rockets to the top of the NBA standings while sporting one of the craziest offenses we’ve seen in recent memory of course of course we know that Harden never won a title with the rockets and they both parted ways in 2021 allowing the two parties to try to win championships separately the Rockets entered a rebuilding phase that allowed the team to find a way to move on without a mega star carrying the offensive load on his shoulders all on his own a lot of people thought it would take a long time for the Rockets to rebuild especially because this team didn’t have assets to build a team around they had a young alprin shenon in the first few years of the post Harden era but they won a combined total of 42 wins in the two seasons that went by after they traded the beard shenon goes Coast to co despite people doubting what this team could do it’s now one of the biggest surprises in the league a season ago the Rockets won 41 games after winning only 20 games the year prior that’s more than double their 2022 23 win record this 2024 25 season they’re even better as they’re in the position to actually compete for a high playoff spot or even surprise a lot of teams during the postseason but while a lot of people credit Shang goon’s growth as a budding star for the Rocket’s quick rise to the top there are a lot of factors that eventually led to the Rocket’s fast-paced growth of course the first Factor people would look at is none other than the aforementioned shenon no one thought he was going to be a very good player most people thought he was going to be a capable starter or even a backup center but he’s risen through the ranks to become a Nicola yic clone for the Rockets last season at just 21 years old he was already putting up star caliber numbers of 21.1 points 9.3 rebounds and five assists a lot of people thought he was one of the biggest snubs from the allstar game this season though his stats aren’t as impressive he’s still putting up star caliber numbers while doing the things joic is known for he uses his incredible skill and footwork down on the low block to get points on the board he’s also shown the ability to own the team’s playmaking duties making slick passes that someone his size shouldn’t be capable of the pass along to you on the addition of Scott Foster hope he’s all right how about the pass a cut plus he’s ventured out on the perimeter or even the three-point line a few times this season that’s why a lot of people think Shane goon has what it takes to finally crack the All-Star team this season but the rise of one player to startom can’t change a franchise’s fortunes overnight this is where it gets interesting because the Rockets great moves dating back to 2023 eventually contributed to this team’s sudden rise it first started with the hiring of eme udoka you may have forgotten that udoka was responsible for leading the Boston Celtics to the 2022 NBA Finals where they lost to the Golden State Warriors in six games what made his Celtics Team stand out was the suffocating brand of Defense they played udoka implemented a suffocating brand of basketball that allowed his players to pressure opposing teams hard forcing them into tough shots or making them use every second of the 24 second shot clock just to get a shot up this team likes to chase three-point Shooters out of the three-point line and make it hard for ball handlers to find open teammates or get good shot attempts on top of that The Rock hustle back on defense almost every play to minimize transition baskets oka’s defense first mentality allowed the Rockets to rise as one of the best defenses in the NBA to co the bump the flip in and one they minimize opponent’s points scored per game and have one of the best defensive ratings in the league this team also rebounds the ball incredibly well because hustle is ingrained into the DNA of every player on the roster but the Rockets 2023 moves didn’t stop there their two most important important player Acquisitions were Fred Van vet and none other than Dylan Brooks you might be thinking that these players aren’t even game-changing stars but they are perfect for the brand of basketball this team plays van vet is the very symbol of what it means to hustle from the bottom to the top from an undrafted player he worked his way up to become a huge part of the 2019 Toronto Raptors championship roster he also became an Allstar with the Raptors during his stint with that team but while he hasn’t been putting up Star level numbers with the Rockets his veteran leadership and presence allowed this team to learn the value of hard work after all if a leader of your team Works harder than everyone else despite lacking the talent that most players have you’re going to want to work just as hard or even harder he basically turned into an extension of oka’s coaching leadership meanwhile Brooks has also proven himself a good acquisition for the rockets in 2023 he and the Memphis Grizzlies had a falling out because of his Antics on and off the court hold on hold on hold on Brooks tried to make a name for himself by being too physical to the point that he became the dirtiest player in the league on top of that he likes talking trash despite not having the type of game that backs up his loud mouth the Grizzlies didn’t like what he brought to the table because they thought he was changing the team’s image into one that the front office didn’t exactly love that’s why they told him they wanted him out of Memphis a lot of people thought that Brooks wasn’t going to find a new team because his Brash mouth and overly physical brand of basketball outweighed his subpar offensive game but the Houston Rockets loved what he brought to the table allowing him to find a home in Texas Brooks has toned down his physicality and trash talking a bit but he brings the same intensity confidence and Swagger he is far from being the team’s best player but he personifies the type of physicality and defense first mindset that eme odoko wants his players to have his personality perfectly suits the type of culture the Rockets want to build dping it down to Webby he falls Brooks is there of of course there are also other factors that allow this team to rise through the ranks fast Jaylen green has stepped things up to try to prove to everyone he’s worth the maximum extension he got in 2024 meanwhile amen Thompson the Rockets prize draft pick in 2023 has been doing incredibly well on both ends of the Court he might even have a case for the Sixth Man of the Year award so with all those Acquisitions the Rockets have totally transformed their identity from an all offensive team that loved to play small ball and shoot three-pointers at a historic great this team turned into a defense first Squad that loves to grind opposing teams to submission with their defensive intensity but as good as the Rockets have been there are a lot of problems that still plague this team preventing it from rising as one of the true contenders for the title NE points V bleed from the corner he buries it the first would be its offensive struggles the Rockets are mostly a middle of the pack offensive team that struggles to find efficient shots if you look at their stats their best scorers struggled to shoot over 45% from the field van vet and green two of their best shot creators can’t even shoot 40% on a consistent basis Jabari Smith is also yet to prove his worth as a high lottery pick in 2022 while defense is still a huge part of what makes a team a championship Contender the offensive part of the game has become more important especially with the way the league has been trending over the past few seasons the Rockets may play Championship level defense but this team’s offense is nothing short of mediocre sometimes even atrocious so if the Rockets want to get to the next level they have to be better on the offensive end thankfully this team’s core players shenon green Smith and Thompson are still quite young and when they start hitting their shots the Rockets are probably going to be true Championship contenders

How Are The 2024-25 Houston Rockets That GOOD?

The Houston Rockets are surprisingly good this season, and they’ve caught a lot of people off-guard with how fast they rose through the ranks during what was supposed to be a rebuilding era.

But make no mistake about it. This version of the Rockets is different from the one that featured James Harden. Instead of relying on one superstar leading a history-breaking offensive system, this team relies on a steady diet of teamwork, strong defense, and good coaching. That’s why this team has quickly risen through the standings and is looking to make some noise by the time the playoffs start rolling.

In today’s video we look at How Are The 2024-25 Houston Rockets That GOOD?

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