Houston Rockets Will Have to Improve on Their Scoring Around the Basket

The Houston Rockets have come a long way in a short period of time. The Rockets struggled for three seasons during their rebuilding after they traded away their franchise player, James Harden. The Rockets leaned hard into rebuilding as they wanted to build from the ground up.

The Rockets only won 61 games over the three years, which was the worst three-year stretch in franchise history. In the last two seasons, the Rockets have completely turned around their franchise, winning 93 games combined. The Rockets have achieved success by becoming one of the top five defensive teams in the NBA and the top rebounding team in the entire league.

One area the Rockets still need to improve next season is on the offensive end. The Rockets have been a bottom-10 3-point shooting team for several seasons and a middle-of-the-pack team in terms of points per game. The Rockets will need to improve their offense if they want to take the next step in the 2025-26 season.

One way the Rockets can improve on the offensive end is by becoming a more efficient team around the basket. The Rockets are one of the more athletic teams in the NBA, with players like Jalen Green and Amen Thompson. Alperen Sengun has some of the best post moves in the league, but despite that, the Rockets struggled around the basket.

The Rockets ranked 25th in field goal percentage when it came to shots from five feet and in, despite being a top-five team when it came to field goal attempts from that distance. Sengun, at times, struggled with efficiency in the paint as he saw his percentage go from 64.7 in 2023-24 to 60.1 this season. Sengun dealt with back and shoulder injuries for most of the season, and that played a part in his decline around the basket

Another player who saw a drop in field goal percentage from around the basket was Dillon Brooks, who went from 58.6% last season to 53.2% this season. However, there were a couple of players who saw improvement. Both Amen Thompson and Jalen Green saw improvement when scoring around the basket.

Overall, the Rockets did improve slightly as a team, but still not enough. The Rockets typically have more attempts at the basket due to their league-best offensive rebounding. If they improve their scoring at the basket, it will go a long way in them improving their offense next season.