How Sustainable is the Houston Rockets' Statistical Success?

Heading into Friday night's NBA Cup game against the Denver Nuggets, the Houston Rockets are red hot with a 10-3 record, sitting as the third seed in the Western Conference. 13 games in, they're exceeding expectations with the acquisitions of Kevin Durant, Josh Okogie and others paying off on the court.

What was so unexpected about the Rockets' start was the efficiency. After struggling on that end of the floor last season, Houston is first in offensive rating thus far (123), yet still ranks sixth in defensive rating (111.6).

More specifically, the Rockets are on track to break the all-time offensive rebounding percentage record. No team since 1997 has surpassed 38%, yet Houston is at 40.6% right now.

The stat is certainly no accident, as the double-big lineups featuring Alperen Sengun and one of Steven Adams or Clint Capela have made a tremendous difference. It also helps that Kevin Durant (6-foot-11), Jabari Smith Jr. (6-foot-10) and Amen Thompson (6-foot-7) are taller wings.

Averaging 123.9 points per game, is this success sustainable for the Rockets? They've made a major jump on one side of the floor, and although that has come with many changes, it's hard to see them keeping this kind of production up for the rest of the season.

Teams are bound to figure each other out as the year moves along, so don't expect Houston to break the record and remain the top offensive team in the league. This isn't to say the team will start losing more games, but it might not be the same fashion it's been for this portion of the season.

The defense should remain effective, but the offense could start slowing down, considering the competition the Rockets have faced for most of these games. Their biggest tests were against the Oklahoma City Thunder on opening night and the Cleveland Cavaliers, most recently. Looking at their other opponents, there is a noticeable drop-off.

Maybe Ime Udoka and his players will prove everyone wrong. Records are meant to be broken, and it's not as if no one viewed Houston as a title contender. Remember, Houston is still missing Dorian Finney-Smith, Fred VanVleet, and now, Tari Eason, all key rotation players who play effective basketball on both ends.

With more height and scoring in the form of Durant, an improvement was expected. It just wasn't supposed to be this much of a leap statistically.