State of denial gets increasingly stronger
Now that defense ranks 9th in league, goal is to crack top 5
The Rockets will presumably gush about scoring again. Not so secretly, they still sort of enjoy taking a ton of 3-pointers and putting up large numbers. But that feels very 2016-17.
For 20 first-half minutes Wednesday, the Rockets made 89.7 percent of their shots and built a 37-point lead, and all coach Mike D’Antoni wanted to talk about was defense.
D’Antoni raved about the defense because that is the area in need of attention, because he thought defense was turned into offense, and, as “the big takeaway,” because “sometimes I just say stuff to say stuff.”
The Rockets, however, have come to enjoy the subject. Having spoken all season about the goal to be among the NBA’s top 10 defenses, they moved that to an aim to reach the top five. And as long as they were gunning for that echelon, they removed all limitations from their aspirations.
“We have a chance to be the No. 1 defensive team,” guard Eric Gordon said. “We have the guys to do it. I know we play at a fast pace. That makes it harder. We have that chance. We definitely want to be top five, but why not be No. 1?”
That might work as an objective, but improved as they are, the Rockets have a long way to go to move from ninth to first. In points
allowed per 100 possessions, they are closer to 26th than they are to Boston’s place atop the defensive rankings. The Rockets’ defense, however, is trending up after routs of the Suns, Grizzlies and Nuggets.
The Rockets scored so easily at Phoenix they did not have to focus much on defense to blast the Suns. But even with that recordsetting night, they have made significant strides defensively since their one loss (to Toronto) in the past 10 games, enough to believe they finally turned a corner with no change of direction ahead.
Right personnel
“That’s obviously the goal,” said forward Ryan Anderson, whose improvement in isolation has helped key the upgrade of the Rockets’ defense overall. “We want to be the best both offensively and defensively. That’s our game plan. Obviously, we have the right coaches in place. (Associate head coach Jeff) Bzdelik does a great job with us. We have the personnel for it this year. Guys are stepping up and playing huge. We’re understanding the system, so we’re getting better and better each game that we go.
“We have the personnel we can switch one through five in most of our lineups. Guys talk about it. Luc (Mbah a Moute) and P.J. (Tucker) and Chris (Paul) have helped us so much on the defensive end. Adding those guys, you can guard so many different ways.”
The Rockets held Denver to 39.8 percent shooting and 29.4 percent 3-point shooting, keeping an opponent below 100 points for the fourth time in their last six games. The Rockets are 7-1 when teams fail to reach 100 and went 18-0 in those games last season.
The Rockets’ use of switching defense requires reliable communication and good chemistry, qualities that had been inconsistent with injuries and illnesses allowing them to use their preferred rotation only twice this season. But regardless of lineup, the Rockets had not established the relentlessness they bring offensively on the defensive end.
Burst of energy
They don’t need to be reminded James Harden will run pick-and-roll and find shooters at the 3-point line or cutters at the rim. They can be expected to confidently take open shots. On the defensive end, however, they seem to need to push themselves to play their style and play it with the sort of intensity they showed the past two games after it was missing last week against Toronto.
“Last game, we played really well defensively, obviously,” Mbah a Moute said. “I really enjoyed our energy. We were flying around our rotations. We were where we’re supposed to be, covering for guys, which is huge for us. Even the game against Memphis, we played good defense. We have to continue with it. Just continue to build on it.”
More important, the Rockets’ defense did not let up as it often has when they misfire. They missed their first six shots but held the Nuggets to 25 percent shooting in the first quarter.
“We hope our defense cannot depend on whether we make shots,” D’Antoni said. “That’s not good. Hopefully, we’re just getting more consistent defensively and guys are buying into it and just getting better at it.
“The biggest thing is our energy. It shows up most on the defensive end. That carries over to the offensive end. When we have that type of effort and feel good, get out in transition, you see the ball go in and get stops. It’s contagious.”
With that, D’Antoni ended up talking about the offense after all. But this time, the way the Rockets’ score was an afterthought, mentioned only as a partner with the improvement and even potential of the defense.