Pace Is Giving The Rockets' Offense New Life

The Houston Rockets finally have their offense looking as effective as it did to start the season, as they have found ways to pick up the pace and push the ball when they get the opportunity.

Picking up the speed at which the ball and the players move is a crucial factor for the Rockets as they try to take advantage of their elite athleticism in critical spaces on the floor.

When pundits describe pace, they are often referring to how the team performs in transition. In Houston's case, the team has made some major improvements in the fast break to help increase its pace.

Amen Thompson, Tari Eason, and Reed Sheppard have focused on pushing the ball in transition. Head Coach Ime Udoka seems to trust basically each of his starters to bring the ball up the court, so even Jabari Smith Jr., Kevin Durant, and Alperen Şengün get their opportunity to get the ball in transition.

The Rockets are either pushing the ball up court themselves, or pushing the ball forward with a pass to a teammate who has gotten a head start to the opposing rim.

The Rockets usually create their transition opportunities after quality defense, connecting both sides of the floor with their awareness and athleticism.

The Rockets could be one of the best transition teams in the postseason. If they can use their speed effectively on the break, it's difficult to guard when teams are running to get into position defensively.

However, pace shouldn't be solely used to describe actions in fast break situations. The Rockets have been playing with more pace, even in the half court.

The player movement and ball movement in the half court has created much better opportunities for scorers. Each player is able to move with or without the ball, creating more of the equal opportunity offense the Rockets depended on last season.

When each player can touch the ball and relocate, it makes it harder for opposing defenses to keep up and keep their eyes on the person they're guarding. This works well against teams with a complex switching pattern off-ball to hide some of their weaker defenders.

Since the Rockets have pushed the pace, they've been able to create more offense at the rim, and get more open outside shots for their shooters. When the ball moves with speed, it's nearly impossible for an opposing defense to catch up. The Rockets are at their best when they push the pace, whether its in transition or in the half court.