https://theathletic.com/2956217/202...p-plus-what-each-team-should-be-thankful-for/ 30. Houston Rockets (Previously 30th), 1-15, -10.5 net rating Weekly slate: Loss at Grizzlies, Loss at Thunder, Loss at Knicks What should this team be thankful for? The incoming rookie class for the 2022 NBA Draft. The Houston Rockets were prepared to be bad this season, but maybe they didn’t believe they’d be off to this horrible of a start, emphasized by 14 straight losses and counting. As we wait to see their own crop of rookies truly start rounding into consistent, productive form, the good news for the Rockets is this upcoming draft class is loaded. Rafael Stone will end up taking someone from the grouping of Chet Holmgren, Paolo Banchero, Jaden Hardy, Jalen Duren or somebody else who will emerge. Jalen Green is eventually going to get moving with his rookie campaign. His tough start shouldn’t deter any excitement about the future of this franchise. Just look to the ping-pong balls in May as the next installment of hype train fuel.
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/pa...kings-week-6-lebron-lakers-turn-things-around 30. Houston Rockets 2021-22 record: 1-15 Previous ranking: 29 Houston has lost 14 in a row, the second-longest losing streak in the league over the past two seasons, ranking behind only the Rockets' 20-game drought last season. Only four of the losses during the current streak have come by single-digit margins. "That's a team learning, growing and fighting to the point where we got to five minutes and we had an opportunity," coach Stephen Silas said after Saturday's 106-99 road loss to the Knicks. "It hasn't been like that." -- MacMahon This week: @ BOS, CHI, CHA
https://www.si.com/nba/2021/11/22/nba-power-rankings-warriors-nets-suns 30. Houston Rockets Current record: 1–15 Previous ranking: 30 The Rockets entered the fourth quarter of Friday’s game against the Knicks with a rare lead. They couldn’t hold it, however, and eventually dropped their 15th game of the season. Afterward, rookie Jalen Green said he felt he could take on “more of a leader role” for the franchise. Green is certainly still figuring out how to acclimate himself to the NBA, but it’s encouraging to see him want to play a bigger role.
https://www.nba.com/news/power-rankings-2021-22-week-6 30 Last Week: 30 Houston Rockets Record: 1-15 Pace: 102.9 (1) OffRtg: 98.0 (30) DefRtg: 108.5 (19) NetRtg: -10.5 (30) Kevin Porter Jr. has the second highest turnover rate among 261 players who’ve averaged at least 15 minutes per game, but the Rockets don’t need Porter to commit a bunch of miscues. Playing without him for a second straight game, they had a chance to end their 13-game losing streak in New York on Saturday. But three straight turnovers early in the fourth quarter helped turn a five-point lead into a two-point deficit, and two more late in the period kept them from having a chance to tie or take the lead in the final few minutes. They’ve now committed 20 or more turnovers in as many games (seven) as they did all of last season. The loss at MSG was the fourth time during the losing streak that the Rockets were within five points in the last five minutes. Daniel Theis registered a minus-19 in 23 minutes in his return to the starting lineup (after one game as a reserve), but the bench had a solid performance, highlighted by Alperen Sengun’s post-up bucket against Nerlens Noel in the fourth quarter. The rookie has some pretty good post-up scoring numbers — 8-for-12 shooting, eight free throws — early on, though his turnover rate is the highest among 38 players with at least 25 post-ups, according to Second Spectrum tracking. The 14-game losing streak is tied for the second longest of the last three seasons, topped only by the Rockets’ 20-game streak last season. Week 6: @ BOS, vs. CHI, vs. CHA
we're the hottest team in the NBA right now, the media better recognize that fact or else there's gonna be a lotta media conspiracy accusations thrown around
damn, ESPN slow to recognize our greatness https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/pa...golden-state-warriors-rank-ahead-week-meeting 30. Houston Rockets 2021-22 record: 3-16 Previous ranking: 30 John Wall's desire to play puts the franchise in the position of trying to figure out how to respect the five-time All-Star while still prioritizing the development of Kevin Porter Jr. It has been a rocky start to Porter's first season as a full-time starting point guard, but he showed promise during the Rockets' shocking two-game winning streak, averaging 18.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 10.5 assists in upsets of the Bulls and Hornets that came on the heels of a 15-game losing streak. -- MacMahon This week: OKC, @OKC, ORL, NO
https://theathletic.com/2970687/202...-and-a-look-back-at-my-preseason-predictions/ 27. Houston Rockets (Previously 30th), 3-16, -9.1 net rating Weekly Slate: Loss at Celtics, Win over Bulls, Win over Hornets First Quarter Grade: D- Can’t really sugarcoat the Houston Rockets losing 15 straight at one point. They haven’t been confused about what this is for them. They’re in a full-on rebuild, and while they have some solid veterans to help out, this is about the youth movement in Houston. Jalen Green was struggling to start his career before the hamstring injury. Kevin Porter Jr. has turned the ball over a lot as their full-time lead guard. Alperen Sengun has shown good and bad but mostly encouraging as he gets his NBA feet wet. But this is a bad team that isn’t going to win a whole lot. Just need to build on them losing in a more competitive manner. Getting John Wall into the mix would be a good start. What was the preseason prediction? Armoni Brooks makes over 100 3-pointers this season. How does that look? On track. Brooks hits a little over one 3-pointer per game so far this season, and he’s played in 15 of their 19 games. It won’t take much for a shooter like him to break triple digits on the season, if he can just raise this volume a little. As the Rockets continue to sink into the rebuild even more (maybe jettison some veteran guards?), I think Brooks will get there. He’s currently on pace for 104 made 3-pointers if he doesn’t miss anymore games. GIF ON THE BEAT:
https://theathletic.com/2985098/202...bad-and-ugly-of-some-new-faces-in-new-places/ 26. Houston Rockets (Previously 27th), 7-16, -6.4 net rating Weekly slate: Win over Thunder, Win at Thunder, Win over Magic, Win over Pelicans New face in this place: Jalen Green, second pick in the draft Last season: 32.0 mpg, 17.9 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 2.8 apg, 46.1/36.5/82.9 shooting splits, 61.3 TS%, G-League Unite This season: 30.8 mpg, 14.0 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 2.3 apg, 38.2/27.8/80.7 shooting splits, 49.8 TS%, -20.8/+7.9 (on/off net rating) Big takeaway so far: Not a good start for the second pick in the draft, and I think the most concerning thing with Jalen Green so far this season is how hesitant he’s been at times to be aggressive. The Houston Rockets are trying to mold him into a big-time scorer, and we’ve rarely seen a flash of what we saw from him with G League Ignite last season. Green’s shot has really struggled, and the team is embarrassingly non-competitive with him on the court. It doesn’t help that this recent good stretch of play has come without him. I really think he’d benefit from playing next to John Wall if the Rockets would just throw the veteran back out there in an appropriate role. I get they’re worried about winning too many games, but they shouldn’t be. This team will still lose enough to have a good shot at the top pick in the lottery. For Green’s development, he needs someone setting him up for easier shots to get him into a rhythm.
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/pa...gs-week-8-did-suns-knock-steph-curry-warriors 26. Houston Rockets 2021-22 record: 7-16 Previous ranking: 30 Raise your hand if you expected the Rockets to have the NBA's longest active winning streak right now. Houston has reeled off six wins in a row, a run that came on the heels of a 15-game losing streak, the league's longest this season. Eric Gordon, one of the last links to the Rockets' recently deconstructed playoff team, has been outstanding during the streak, averaging 16.3 points, .493/.457/.833 shooting splits and 4.2 assists per game. -- MacMahon This week: BKN, MIL, @MEM
That statement about a statement is the true statement that didn't age well. How about you two naysayers [CALM DOWN] and open your eyes, ears, hearts and cheese cutters and realize Yetti was right! We are only 3.5 games back from a play-in game and you giver uppers gave 'er up. Read em' and weep speak too sooners... we've got a full boat and the pair of you haters (aka self proclaimed "realists") are looking like foolish fools with dummy thoughts spewing out of your keyboards. Three. Point. Five. 3.5 3 and a half gb Games back, three and a half we are.
https://www.nba.com/news/power-rankings-2021-22-week-8 26 Last Week: 29 ↑ Houston Rockets Record: 7-16 Pace: 102.1 (1) OffRtg: 102.6 (27) DefRtg: 109.0 (19) NetRtg: -6.4 (27) Break up the Rockets! They’ve won six straight games, with the league’s fourth-ranked offense (118.0 points scored per 100 possessions) over that stretch. Christian Wood (19.3 points and 11.5 rebounds per game) has led the way, but is just one of four Rockets who have averaged at least 15 points on an effective field goal percentage of 60% or better over the six games. The Rockets have assisted on 69% percentage of their buckets, the league’s second highest rate over that stretch and up from just 56% (25th) prior. One of the other three is Jae’Sean Tate, who did just about everything (32 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, two steals and five blocks) in their win in Oklahoma City on Wednesday. Ten of his 11 buckets came in the paint and with the Rockets up one in the final minute, they got the ball to him at the elbow and he went straight to work against Darius Bazley. Of course, with veterans Eric Gordon (24 points and the game-winner against Orlando on Friday), Danuel House Jr, D.J. Augustin and Daniel Theis all contributing to the winning streak, you have to wonder why John Wall can’t get in on the action. The streak began with wins against the Bulls and Hornets, so it’s not like the Rockets have just beaten other teams at the bottom of the standings. But with the last four wins having come against the Thunder (x2), Magic and Pelicans, visits from Brooklyn and Milwaukee this week will make things a little more interesting. Week 8: vs. BKN, vs. MIL, @ MEM
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/pa...9-risers-fallers-3-point-nuggets-all-30-teams 26. Houston Rockets 2021-22 record: 8-18 Previous ranking: 26 Franchise 3-point leader: James Harden (2,029) James Harden might hold Houston's career 3-point record forever. "The Beard," whose step-back 3 became one of the league's most lethal weapons during his Houston tenure, made more than 2,000 3s in a Rockets uniform. Eric Gordon ranks second with 896. -- MacMahon This week: @ATL, @CLE, NY, @DET https://theathletic.com/3003205/202...-and-what-net-ratings-say-about-all-30-teams/ 26. Houston Rockets (Previously 26th), 8-18, -5.8 net rating Weekly slate: Win over Nets, Loss to Bucks, Loss at Grizzlies 1st Q: -3.9 net rating | Ranked 21st 2nd Q: -7.8 net rating | Ranked 23rd 3rd Q: -8.7 net rating | Ranked 26th 4th Q: -3.0 net rating | Ranked 23rd Clutch: -8.6 net rating | Ranked 21st | 10 games (5-5) Takeaway: Even during the Houston Rockets’ seven-game win streak that snapped this past week, they were still seeing themselves get beat in the second and fourth quarters. They were just dominating so much at the start of the game and the start of the second half that they could overcome. As for the entirety of the season as a whole, the Rockets really just struggled in the middle of it all. Some of those fourth-quarter numbers are softened during blowouts. Maybe the most encouraging thing is the fact that they haven’t performed well in clutch situations, but they’re still .500 in those 10 games. It’s a small sample size with some coin flips going their way, but I’d try to emphasize that kind of execution for a young Rockets team if I’m Stephen Silas trying to teach them through inexperience. https://www.nba.com/news/power-rankings-2021-22-week-9 25 Last Week: 26 ↑ Houston Rockets Record: 8-18 Pace: 101.3 (1) OffRtg: 104.2 (27) DefRtg: 110.0 (21) NetRtg: -5.8 (26) The Rockets have had the league’s third-ranked offense (117.8 points scored per 100 possessions) since the start of their seven-game winning streak, which featured victories over Chicago, Charlotte and Brooklyn. They continue to share the ball (assisting on more than 2/3 of their buckets) and shoot well from the perimeter, with almost half of their shots (48.6%) coming from 3-point range. Extracting Daniel Theis has led to better spacing and more room for players to drive, roll and cut to the rim. The Rockets lead the league (by a wide margin) in the percentage of their shots (39%) that have come in the restricted area, and they’ve shot 68.1% there over the last nine games, up from 61.3% prior to that. Their opponents have had some offensive success as well. The winning streak came to an end when the Bucks scored 65 points on 50 possessions in the second half on Friday, and the Grizzlies never gave up the lead after scoring 40 points on 25 possessions in the first quarter the following night. Fouling remains an issue for the Rockets, who rank 29th in opponent free throw rate (25.9 attempts per 100 shots from the field). The Rockets are just three weeks into a seven-week stretch in which they’re mostly playing the Eastern Conference (18 of 24 games). Their wins over the Bulls, Hornets and Nets were all at home and they’re just 0-2 in East arenas. They’ll play each of their next eight games against the opposite conference, with seven of those eight on the road. Week 9: @ ATL, @ CLE, vs. NYK, @ DET https://www.si.com/nba/2021/12/13/nba-power-rankings-kevin-durant-brooklyn-nets 26. Houston Rockets Current record: 8–18 Previous ranking: 26 It’s time to get on the Garry Bird train! Garrison Matthews has been a serious spark for the Rockets in their recent hot stretch, shooting 44.2% from three since Thanksgiving. Matthews’s energy on the floor is infectious. He adds quality spacing for a group often lacking it, and he’s even taken some ballhandling duties in a pinch. Don’t expect Matthews to exit Stephen Silas’s rotation anytime soon.
https://theathletic.com/3012929/202...vp-again-one-random-thought-for-all-30-teams/ 27. Houston Rockets (Previously 26th), 10-20, -6.2 net rating Weekly slate: Win at Hawks, Loss at Cavs, Loss to Knicks, Win at Pistons Random thought: What happens when Jalen Green and Kevin Porter Jr. are good to go? They’ve both missed a bunch of time, and it’s coincided with the Houston Rockets no longer being a team that’s just easy to push over. The Rockets have been winning ever since those two left the lineup, but the message they’ve thrown out there all season long has been about development. Even though we have a long season to go still, the Rockets currently find themselves just a couple of games outside of the Play-In Tournament. And if Tilman Fertitta decides he wants the squad to chase a chance at playoff revenue, that’s going to have to happen. Considering the Rockets haven’t played John Wall yet because they were worried about winning too much and not giving enough development time to the young guys, I believe they’ll just plug Green and KPJ back into the rotation easily. But going away from what’s working in the name of resuming development is not an easy thing to do at the professional level. We might have an OKC situation like last season. GIF ON THE BEAT https://www.si.com/nba/2021/12/20/nba-power-rankings-suns-warriors-jazz-christmas 26. Houston Rockets Current record: 10–20 Previous ranking: 26 Credit the Rockets for finally reaching double-digit wins as Saturday’s 116–107 victory over the Pistons was the latest in what’s amounted to a (relatively) strong last month of play. Among the bright spots for Houston is forward Garrison Mathews, who scored 16 points and added five rebounds in Saturday’s contest. Mathews is shooting 42.8% from three for the Rockets and last week signed a four-year contract, reportedly worth more than $8 million. The Wizards let Mathews walk after the 2020–21 season, and it already looks like a move they might come to regret. https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/pa...very-team-stands-ahead-christmas-day-matchups 26. Houston Rockets 2021-22 record: 10-20 Previous ranking: 26 Garrison Mathews made converting his two-way deal to a standard contract a priority for the Rockets, who rewarded him this week with a four-year deal worth $8.2 million. Mathews has started the past 12 games for the Rockets. Houston is 8-4 in that span, during which Mathews has averaged 14.6 points and 3.9 rebounds with a 63.8 true shooting percentage. -- MacMahon https://www.nba.com/news/power-rankings-2021-22-week-10 26. Houston Rockets Last Week: 25 ↓ Record: 10-20 Pace: 101.0 (2) OffRtg: 105.1 (27) DefRtg: 111.3 (25) NetRtg: -6.2 (27) With trade season open, Eric Gordon could be one of the most interesting players for contenders to pursue. He’s had some injury issues (he played just 63 total games over the last two seasons) and he hasn’t played in both games of a back-to-back this season. But he’s played in 25 of the Rockets’ 30, has shot 48% on catch-and-shoot 3s (the fourth best mark among 148 players who’ve attempted at least 65), and he had a big game (32 points, 10-for-16 from the field, 7-for-9 from the line) in Atlanta on Monday, even doing some good stuff on defense in Houston’s comeback win. The Rockets allowed more than 124 points per 100 possessions over a 1-4 stretch where they played five games in seven days. But they took care of business in Detroit on Saturday afternoon and have won nine of their last 13 games, with the league’s third-ranked offense over that stretch. There’s been improvement in the paint (and the Rockets continue to lead the league in free throw rate), but the run has largely been fueled by a big jump in 3-point percentage. Some players have shot better, but it mostly helps that the guy leading the team in 3-point attempts is Garrison Mathews and not Jalen Green (who led them through the first 17 games). The Rockets are 6-7 against the Eastern Conference, with three more games (including a Wednesday-Thursday back-to-back) on their current trip. Week 10: @ CHI, @ MIL, @ IND
