Rockets Have Bounced Back From Early Losses

The Houston Rockets are now having a strong start to their season after dropping the first two games against quality opponents. There was concern that they may struggle against playoff-caliber teams without a true point guard, but then the team rallied to beat a Milwaukee Bucks team with a true MVP candidate.

Houston has shrugged off the early worries without a true floor general by leaning on the playmaking abilities of Alperen Sengun, and relying on Kevin Durant a little more for playmaking than they initially intended when he was signed to the roster.

So far, it's been an effective combination of playmaking, scoring, and defense for the Rockets that have led to their strong bounce back.

Many of the things Houston was good at last year carried over to this season. Tari Eason, Amen Thompson, and Steven Adams once against combining to lead one of the league's best offensive rebounding units.

Thompson, Eason, and Jabari Smith Jr. have played high-quality defense that is helping Houston turn around a slow start defensively. It seems the Rockets are trending towards returning to their usual elite defensive identity.

Some things have improved from last season to boost Houston into a team that could become a true contender.

The shooting is much improved due to better spacing, better shot selection, and just better shooting from individual players. Adding Durant is a significant boost as one of the most efficient shooters of all time, but Eason and Smith Jr. have also leveled up their shooting this season to contribute significantly to the scoring when they are hot.

Reed Sheppard has also been a big contributor to the team's shooting percentage.

At this point of the season, Sheppard is a secondary ball handler and a catch-and-shoot release valve for the offense. The Rockets will eventually want Sheppard to grow into a primary ball handler with the starters to help supplement the loss of Fred VanVleet to injury.

However, as long as the outside shooters continue creating space for Sengun and Thompson in the middle, the Rockets should be able to get by for now without an elite ball handler running the offense.

This limitation could lead to problems down the line as the team nears the postseason. Some of their issues were present against the San Antonio Spurs as they were beaten at their own game.

For now, the Rockets have proven why they are considered one of the elite teams in the NBA, and bounced back from some early losses to re-establish themselves as a factor in the West.