Houston struggles to find balance

MINNEAPOLIS — Shots go up with just a moment or two from the hand to the rim to make a decision, a choice that is as crucial as it must be quick. Attack the glass or go back. Rebound or run.

As with so much about the Rockets' season, strengths can become weaknesses, but they remain convinced they do not have to be.

There is a decision to be made in those moments with the ball in the air, but theirs has not been a choice that was made to be sensational at crashing the glass and accept being terrible at transition defense.

It has worked out that way. The Rockets have been the top offensive rebounding team in the NBA all season, snaring the largest percentage of their own misses. But they are last in fast break points allowed, giving up 17.6 per game.

Much of that comes off live-ball turnovers. The Rockets remain the NBA's most turnover-prone team. But as they began a home-and-home against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday, after so repeatedly getting outrun down the floor by the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday, one of the top priorities was in defending fast breaks without necessarily sacrificing their most reliable strength.

“We just watched that today on film,” coach Stephen Silas said after Friday's practice. “The balance is, you're doing one or the other, but you can't be doing neither. You're either on the glass or you're sprinting back. And a lot of times we'll find ourselves at the top of the key, watching and not sprinting back.

“If you're going to go, go. And they have to deal with us with boxing us out. And that's part of transition defense where they can't run out because we're crashing the glass or we get our hand on the ball and it goes out of bounds so that we get into our sets, or they get a hand on the ball and it goes out of bounds. It's the sprint back part that we need to do a better job of and our decisions about whether we're going or not.”

In some ways, it is not unlike the criticism of Mike D'Antoni's offense when he brought it to Houston. With shooters in each corner and a pick-and-roll in the middle sending the ballhandler and lob threat running toward the rim, the thought was that four players were on the baseline and or heading that way and in no position to defend fast breaks heading the other way.

D'Antoni argued that the players in the corners had to anticipate when the shot or lob was going up and sprint back.

Eventually, they did. Their positioning has since become routine around the NBA.

The Rockets' determination to crash the glass comes with the same demand. The players that are not in position to chase rebounds must get back with the same urgency used to hit the boards and need to match up and defend when they get there.

Even when the Rockets do get back, they often do not defend breaks, running along as if waving goodbye to passengers on a departing train. But the first step is correcting the problem in their worst transition defense games, getting back even when hitting the boards.

“It really means putting in the effort and making the choice to sprint back,” Rockets forward Tari Eason said. “It definitely doesn't need to be a choice; you can be good at both.”

The Rockets will give up some transition baskets because they send an extra body to the glass. That can be especially costly if they continue to allow so many points off turnovers. But the Rockets, last in the NBA in shooting percentage, can use the extra shots.

“There's give and take,” Rockets guard Eric Gordon said. “When you go to the offensive glass there's chances the other team will get the ball and maybe you give up some transition. It's hard because we're not some big, physical team. The good thing is offensively we're very active getting to the ball. It's another way to get more points. If you're great at both (offensive rebounding and transition defense) that's a really great thing. There's not a lot of teams that can do that.”

The Rockets don't control the boards because of one player's overwhelming power, as with teams that have had Steven Adams at center. (The Grizzlies are second in offensive rebounding percentage and were first last season, as were Adams and the Pelicans in 2020-21.) But each of their centers — Alperen Sengun, Usman Garuba and Bruno Fernando — have caused problems on the glass with forwards, Eason especially, snagging rebounds left unclaimed.

As with all teams, the Rockets have “rules” for who is free to chase rebounds and who is responsible for getting back defensively.

“We're not trying to crash five guys on every shot,” Silas said. But as with their frequently late reactions in offball defense, they have too often had players caught in between the pursuit of rebounds and the rush into transition defense.

There is a risk of being outnumbered if multiple players go to the boards but don't get the rebound. But that becomes a greater issue if players that are not chasing rebounds are also late in the transition from offense to defense.

“The more we crash, the more we can get offensive rebounds,” Garuba said. “I think some teams are scouting us. We did a pretty good job at the beginning of the year, but we have to get better at that communication because sometimes, we are crashing, and other guys don't need to crash. They need to get back. We have to have the balance.

“The coaches want us to keep doing what we do but be smart with that also. You got to get back.”