The Rockets Can't Afford To Drop Their Defensive Efforts

The Houston Rockets have re-entered the contention conversation after several years of improvement and smart roster additions. Their most impactful improvements have been on the defensive end, as the team's defense is the main reason behind their recent resurgence.

There are several players on the squad who could see increased roles on the offense. However, the team will still need to give full effort defensively to continue being elite on that end of the floor.

Amen Thompson is the new leader to the defense after the departure of former Rocket Dillon Brooks.

He could see the largest increase in role offensively, especially now that Fred VanVleet is set to miss most of, if not all, of the upcoming season. The Rockets depend on Thompson guarding the opposing team's best player, so he won't be able to slack on defense because of his increased activity offensively.

He should be able to have some support on defense from Tari Eason, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Kevin Durant.

Each of these wings has top-tier length and strong enough defense to switch and help on perimeter offensive players. Jabari Smith Jr. and Alperen Sengun are quality help defenders in the paint and make things difficult for ball handlers that penetrate toward the rim.

The Rockets are poised to continue their elite defense with a much improved offense as well.

Kevin Durant alone should increase the team's shooting percentage, and Houston can still depend on elite rebounding efforts to supplement the offense when shots aren't falling.

Houston still won't be an elite shooting team despite the new additions and improvements from returning players, but the team can hang its hat on the defensive end and by grabbing offensive rebounds on the other side.

Rebounding and defense will continue to be the most important factors for the Rockets as they look to continue their ascent into the upper echelon of the Western Conference. Each of the league's top teams has an active defense with several players who can contribute on both sides of the ball.

The Rockets believe they've built a team with that capability, but they don't have the benefit of having an MVP-caliber player to take over games offensively while the rest of the team plays defense.

Durant is a quality scorer, but he's no longer at the peak of his abilities to carry the Rockets over the length of the season.

Every player must elevate their offensive responsibilities, but they also must maintain their defense, the element that helped them reach this point in the first place.