Better defense must sustain through playoffs
The improvement was clear, but with the postseason in sight, 12 games and less than a month away, a question remained.
More than hanging around over the Rockets’ success, it had become more pressing, potentially more definitive.
The Rockets’ defense had not only improved; it had enjoyed a near-complete turnaround. Before the All-Star break, only five teams had a defensive rating worse than the Rockets’. Since the break, only five teams have been ranked higher.
So, is this a team on a good defensive run, or has it become a good defensive team?
The answer could determine what the Rockets will be when the regular season, when their highscoring offense can carry them, gives way to the postseason, when success can only be built with quality play on both ends of the floor.
But as he considered that question, coach Mike D’Antoni had a different answer.
“We can improve,” he said. “We can get better.”
That said, he returned to the original question, as long as he could add that improvement needs to come from having the Rockets do what they have been doing, but do it regularly.
“I think it’s who we are,” D’Antoni said. “We’re good and
we’re going to be good. We’ve had a habit of having good quarters and so-so quarters. We have to just be able to sustain. Four great quarters.”
The Rockets on Sunday held an eighth consecutive opponent shy of 110 points for the first time this season. The defense was better than that. Until the benches were cleared with 3:08 remaining, the Rockets had held the Timberwolves to 34.2 percent of their shots in the second half.
That could have pointed to the relatively rocky start and the greater consistency the Rockets seek. But it continued the trend toward having the defense be an asset, rather than a problem to overcome.
In the past eight games, the
Rockets have had the fourthbest defensive rating in the NBA, holding opponents to the fourth-lowest field-goal percentage and second-lowest 3-point percentage while averaging the second-most steals per game.
“This is definitely the mindset we want to have heading to the playoffs, to build that consistency defensively, especially the chemistry defensively,” center Clint Capela said. “What I love is when we call something, like to switch everything, the guys are going to go to it right away.”
Much of the improvement can be tied to Capela’s return and the progress he has made since coming back after five weeks out following thumb surgery. Capela had difficult stretches against DeMarcus Cousins of the Warriors on Wednesday and early against KarlAnthony Towns of the Timberwolves on Sunday. But he has
also been more effective on switches and better denied the ball against Towns as the game progressed, with Towns’ only field goal in the fourth quarter (on six attempts) coming on a 3-pointer moments before the benches were cleared.
“He guards the rim,” D’Antoni said. “He might not get all kinds of blocked shots, but he alters shots. They shoot it differently and he gets the rebound. He’s playing at a very high level.”
Capela has improved when switching onto guards, allowing James Harden to switch onto rolling big men where Harden allows the fewest points per possession and creates the most turnovers while defending postups (among players who have played at least 30 games and defend at least 1.5 post-ups per game.)
More than that, D’Antoni said the turnaround comes from better overall focus and intensity, which could come from greater depth.
“Concentration,” he said. “Getting after it. And not having to play all our guys 40 minutes. P.J. (Tucker) not having to play 38 minutes. Danuel House coming back helps with a lot of athleticism on the floor a little bit longer. And just honing in more, just knowing the urgency of what we’re doing.”
The urgency could come from the calendar. The Rockets spent the season talking about the importance of getting their defense worthy of keeping company with their offense. They tweaked some of their switches to keep Capela and their other centers back more to improve on the boards, an area in which they often struggle. (Even since the All-Star break, they rank 24th in defensive rebounding percentage.)
Yet, there was a sense that if they came this far in other ways, they can make those strides, too, knowing what is at stake.
“If we want to be a championship-caliber team, we have to play good defense,” guard Eric Gordon said. “We got to build good habits now so we can enter the playoffs where it’s just natural. We’re playing well. We are a smaller team so we got to rebound. Once we get more rebounds, it really helps our defense.”
Improving their defense improves their chances in the postseason, but that was never in doubt. The good run might indicate what the Rockets can be, with the next challenge to make it what they are, if they have not already.