These teams share a common element: really terrible defense

Apparently, the chase to catch the Warriors continues.

Oh, you thought just because the Warriors are no longer the heavily favored big dogs of the NBA that the Rockets would no longer be consumed by them?

Nope. The teams that were 1-2 in wins over the last three seasons find themselves next to each still … at the bottom of NBA defensive statistics.

The Rockets and Warriors, who play Wednesday night at Toyota Center, are the easiest teams in the league to score against.

So what happens when a resistible force — do note the use of the word force here is a bit forced — meets an even more resistible

one?

Probably not much defense. And if, as the saying goes, defense wins championships, this early tip of a weeknight game will not feature a championship team.

That is so different than in recent years when the two teams played in must-see matchups of Western Conference powers.

Had Golden State not beaten Portland on Monday night, it would have tied for the worst record in the NBA. The Warriors, who have beaten Houston in the playoffs in four of the last five seasons, aren’t the Warriors we have come to appreciate over the years.

The nine players who took to the court for Golden State on Monday played a grand total of zero minutes against the Rockets in all of those playoff games. That includes three rookie starters.

There is no Kevin Durant (left as a free agent), Steph Curry (injured), Draymond Green (injured) or Klay Thompson for Rockets fans to boo.

They can direct that animus toward the Rockets should Houston somehow fail to handle the undermanned Warriors. This should not be possible, but the Rockets’ listless defensive play leaves open the possibility.

Notwithstanding Monday night’s acceptable performance against Memphis, arguably the worst offensive team in the league, the Rockets’ defense has been atrocious.

They allowed at least 110 points in each of their first six games. The only other time they did that was in 1969-70, when they were known as the San Diego Rockets. That team went on to finish with the worst record in the NBA.

The league average that season was 116.7 points a game. This year’s Rockets allow a layup line to 123.1 points a game, 13 more than the average.

The Rockets’ opponents shoot 48.9 percent from the field. Only six times has the team been worse and just one of those teams won 50 games.

The 1985-86 Rockets gave up 49.1 percent shooting and made it to the NBA Finals, but that was a different league. The Rockets were only 11th in the league in that category, as well as 11th in points allowed.

This year’s squad has a long way to go to become that “good.” The Rockets better hope that’s even a realistic goal.

The ultimate low was Sunday’s loss at Miami, where the infamous South Beach flu is often blamed for teams struggling to go to work after a night off.

The Rockets’ 46-14 deficit at the end of the first quarter sure made that fictional ailment look real.

A seven-game sample doesn’t provide enough data to reach a conclusion but from what we have seen, the best the Rockets can shoot for are middle-of-theroad defensive numbers.

Defense is too often summarized as being all about effort. Far much more goes into it than “want to.” That said, the Rockets haven’t appeared to want to, which has made them look worse defensively.

So that can change.

Even if Mike D’Antoni can get more intensity, teams don’t move from the bottom of the defensive statistics to the top by just playing harder.

A lockdown defense will not come from the current Rockets roster.

After P.J. Tucker, there is a decent drop-off to the next best defender. Of the top six Rockets in minutes per game, only Tucker and Eric Gordon are considered to be plus defenders.

James Harden isn’t as bad as his reputation, but he is not in the league for his defensive contribution. The same goes for Russell Westbrook.

Clint Capela has not improved in the post as much as the team would have liked, and Daniel House Jr. is working toward being average.

Do the Rockets break up a top offense to find some defense? If they want to win big, they’re going to have to.

There was a time when outscoring the Warriors meant something.

Right now, the NBA championship chase is at the other end of the league.