The Houston Rockets are in a tight spot, to say the least. They are 10-27, last in the Western Conference and have a difficult stretch of upcoming games. Offensively, things have been a mess, particularly as of late. What’s been going on? Where do they go from here? To dive into Houston’s complicated offense, The Athletic‘s Rockets beat writer Kelly Iko sought out the expertise of Steve Jones Jr., former NBA assistant coach and host of “The Dunker Spot” podcast.
Iko: Thanks for doing this, Steve.
As you know, the Houston Rockets are struggling. They’ve lost nine out of their last 10 games, and their offense — which was already inconsistent to begin with — has come to a screeching halt. According to Cleaning the Glass, they’re 30th in half-court efficiency, scoring just 89.7 points per 100 possessions. They’re also dead last in turnovers. That is a bad combination, really bad. So what gives? You’ve watched them enough — along with other NBA offenses — to know right from wrong. What do you see when you watch these young Rockets play?
Jones: It’s mainly inconsistency, which can be expected from a young team. I go to their first play of the game versus Dallas, Jalen Green comes off a screen from Alperen Sengun, engages Christian Wood, hits Sengun rolling, who skips to Eric Gordon for 3. Saw a similar possession shortly thereafter, which ended with a Kevin Porter Jr. drive after the ball moved. It’s in there, the problem is, how many times will they find it? A couple of plays later Porter calls “first play” to try and get a repeat, it takes 12 seconds to set up, and the results aren’t the same.
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Have to find consistency with their execution and a commitment to each other offensively. The more the ball moves, the more they play together, the more success they have.
Iko: When Gordon gave the postgame interview heard around the world, the operative word used was “improvement.” He truly believes there hasn’t been any improvement over the last three seasons, which is saying a lot for a rebuild supposedly at a critical juncture.
Because this is such a young team, there are going to be growing pains, right? But how do you diagnose their struggles? For example, according to Synergy, their second-most utilized offense involves a pick-and-roll, but its output is only in the third percentile. Naturally, those duties fall on the shoulders of Porter and Green. But should it?
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Jones: As far as the Gordon quote goes, I read that as frustration tied to the type of losses and the reasons they are coming. It’s a mindset deal and I am not the vibe police, but you go too early in that Dallas game, Sengun has a post-up, Luka Dončić has his back turned, Jabari Smith Jr. cuts and gets an and-1 and … not a huddle in sight, maybe a couple of guys on the bench stood up and clapped. When you need to do certain things to give yourself a shot and those things aren’t happening, it tends to wear on folks. Growing pains are to be expected. For me, it’s a team trying to find its way through those growing pains. It’s tough when you’re trying to find your way on both ends of the floor and maybe you let one end affect the other.
With the personnel you have, if you’re going to simplify it so it’s not overly scripted, you give Porter/Green the reps in pick-and-roll. The thing is their development as far as opening plays up and reading the defense when there. Both have seen a lot of drop coverage, which is going to open up space, we see pull-ups, we see drives to the basket and a pocket pass. What you want is for the reads to improve, make quicker decisions, change speeds, make the defense react. Know what you are trying to get out of this play when you come off, don’t predetermine. Engage the defense and then make the play. If pick-and-roll is just a shot:
视频
… or you predetermine and go to the pocket pass
视频
… it just limits what the offense can do. And if the offense is being simplified to give more freedom to where pick-and-roll and iso are the default, you have to make the most of those chances. I’d like to see them play outside of the play more and create for each other. Get to more drive and kick, pass and cut, and trust the ball is coming back.
Their best possessions offensively generally come from multiple attacks. Use that athleticism and size to get to drive and kick outside of the set, outside of that first pick-and-roll and keep it moving. When there are struggles to execute a set and then struggles to play outside of that set you get uneven results.
Iko: Stephen Silas has always stated his preference for his guys to play fast, get up the floor quickly and look to punish defenses before they can get fully set up. That’s a fine strategy, but you have to generate a consistent amount of defensive stops to apply it effectively — the Rockets do not.
So, what happens is they’re left with attempting to break down set opposing defenses. If you want to point to stagnation, and bad habits, Houston coughs up the ball more than any team in the league. But I like to think of those as the final mistakes of a possession. There are a lot of other mishaps that occur within the lines of their half-court offense, is that fair to say?
Jones: When you have to take the ball out of the net, you have to execute more in the half court. Too often it takes a while for them to get into their set. Against the Knicks early in the first quarter (1st vs. NYK 10:08) just a swing to Fernando to play out of delay action (big dribble handoff). Green hits and cuts through, Jabari Smith is kind of waiting in the corner, Porter is standing on the wing. Eventually with 12 seconds on the clock Porter comes off to get the handoff.
视频
Those are the types of possessions they have to try and get rid of, execute, make quick decisions, and give yourself a chance. That makes it tough to build consistency and now you’re up against the clock trying to make plays. Or it’s throw it in the post and watch or wait for a screen or look to attack one-on-one. When they make quick decisions and execute, it looks different. When they don’t they end up having to force the issue.
I look at a team like OKC, sure they have Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but you know they are going to look to drive the ball and kick it. If Houston can commit to making plays for each other more times than not, positives will come.
Iko: On paper, it looks like Houston would be better served with a playmaking-by-committee approach. There is no true point guard on the roster, but Porter, Green and Sengun can create offense. In addition, however, there’s another name I need to bring up that might be able to patch some things up — third-year forward Jae’Sean Tate. He’s missed the majority of the season with a right ankle injury, but all signs are pointing to his return to the lineup this week.
To me, Tate has always been great in a connective tissue role. When I watch Houston, I see players who need a push from point B to C. Tate has shown he’s capable of bridging that gap offensively. Even if he doesn’t have to be pounding the rock for eight or 10 seconds a possession, he’s great and brings plays together. He understands what Silas wants to do and puts it in action, even if it’s a simple quick handoff and screen for a shooter.
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Should his return help smoothen some things out? Or are their problems much bigger than that?
Jones: I think the different ways that you can use Tate offensively should help Houston. Can involve him in action, can catch and attack, drive a closeout and force more help. We’ve seen what he can do on the weakside as a cutter or even as a screener. Even catching a pass and swinging it to keep things moving should give them a boost. Those are the little things that could bring a level of consistency to Houston offensively. Will have to see how he’s used, but his skill set should smoothen things out.
The Houston Rockets are in a tight spot, to say the least. They are 10-27, last in the Western Conference and have a difficult stretch of upcoming games. Offensively, things have been a mess, particularly as of late. What’s been going on? Where do they go from here? To dive into Houston’s complicated offense, The Athletic‘s Rockets beat writer Kelly Iko sought out the expertise of Steve Jones Jr., former NBA assistant coach and host of “The Dunker Spot” podcast.
Iko: Thanks for doing this, Steve.
As you know, the Houston Rockets are struggling. They’ve lost nine out of their last 10 games, and their offense — which was already inconsistent to begin with — has come to a screeching halt. According to Cleaning the Glass, they’re 30th in half-court efficiency, scoring just 89.7 points per 100 possessions. They’re also dead last in turnovers. That is a bad combination, really bad. So what gives? You’ve watched them enough — along with other NBA offenses — to know right from wrong. What do you see when you watch these young Rockets play?
Jones: It’s mainly inconsistency, which can be expected from a young team. I go to their first play of the game versus Dallas, Jalen Green comes off a screen from Alperen Sengun, engages Christian Wood, hits Sengun rolling, who skips to Eric Gordon for 3. Saw a similar possession shortly thereafter, which ended with a Kevin Porter Jr. drive after the ball moved. It’s in there, the problem is, how many times will they find it? A couple of plays later Porter calls “first play” to try and get a repeat, it takes 12 seconds to set up, and the results aren’t the same.
视频
Have to find consistency with their execution and a commitment to each other offensively. The more the ball moves, the more they play together, the more success they have.
Iko: When Gordon gave the postgame interview heard around the world, the operative word used was “improvement.” He truly believes there hasn’t been any improvement over the last three seasons, which is saying a lot for a rebuild supposedly at a critical juncture.
Because this is such a young team, there are going to be growing pains, right? But how do you diagnose their struggles? For example, according to Synergy, their second-most utilized offense involves a pick-and-roll, but its output is only in the third percentile. Naturally, those duties fall on the shoulders of Porter and Green. But should it?
ADVERTISEMENT
Jones: As far as the Gordon quote goes, I read that as frustration tied to the type of losses and the reasons they are coming. It’s a mindset deal and I am not the vibe police, but you go too early in that Dallas game, Sengun has a post-up, Luka Dončić has his back turned, Jabari Smith Jr. cuts and gets an and-1 and … not a huddle in sight, maybe a couple of guys on the bench stood up and clapped. When you need to do certain things to give yourself a shot and those things aren’t happening, it tends to wear on folks. Growing pains are to be expected. For me, it’s a team trying to find its way through those growing pains. It’s tough when you’re trying to find your way on both ends of the floor and maybe you let one end affect the other.
With the personnel you have, if you’re going to simplify it so it’s not overly scripted, you give Porter/Green the reps in pick-and-roll. The thing is their development as far as opening plays up and reading the defense when there. Both have seen a lot of drop coverage, which is going to open up space, we see pull-ups, we see drives to the basket and a pocket pass. What you want is for the reads to improve, make quicker decisions, change speeds, make the defense react. Know what you are trying to get out of this play when you come off, don’t predetermine. Engage the defense and then make the play. If pick-and-roll is just a shot:
视频
… or you predetermine and go to the pocket pass
视频
… it just limits what the offense can do. And if the offense is being simplified to give more freedom to where pick-and-roll and iso are the default, you have to make the most of those chances. I’d like to see them play outside of the play more and create for each other. Get to more drive and kick, pass and cut, and trust the ball is coming back.
Their best possessions offensively generally come from multiple attacks. Use that athleticism and size to get to drive and kick outside of the set, outside of that first pick-and-roll and keep it moving. When there are struggles to execute a set and then struggles to play outside of that set you get uneven results.
Iko: Stephen Silas has always stated his preference for his guys to play fast, get up the floor quickly and look to punish defenses before they can get fully set up. That’s a fine strategy, but you have to generate a consistent amount of defensive stops to apply it effectively — the Rockets do not.
So, what happens is they’re left with attempting to break down set opposing defenses. If you want to point to stagnation, and bad habits, Houston coughs up the ball more than any team in the league. But I like to think of those as the final mistakes of a possession. There are a lot of other mishaps that occur within the lines of their half-court offense, is that fair to say?
Jones: When you have to take the ball out of the net, you have to execute more in the half court. Too often it takes a while for them to get into their set. Against the Knicks early in the first quarter (1st vs. NYK 10:08) just a swing to Fernando to play out of delay action (big dribble handoff). Green hits and cuts through, Jabari Smith is kind of waiting in the corner, Porter is standing on the wing. Eventually with 12 seconds on the clock Porter comes off to get the handoff.
视频
Those are the types of possessions they have to try and get rid of, execute, make quick decisions, and give yourself a chance. That makes it tough to build consistency and now you’re up against the clock trying to make plays. Or it’s throw it in the post and watch or wait for a screen or look to attack one-on-one. When they make quick decisions and execute, it looks different. When they don’t they end up having to force the issue.
I look at a team like OKC, sure they have Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but you know they are going to look to drive the ball and kick it. If Houston can commit to making plays for each other more times than not, positives will come.
Iko: On paper, it looks like Houston would be better served with a playmaking-by-committee approach. There is no true point guard on the roster, but Porter, Green and Sengun can create offense. In addition, however, there’s another name I need to bring up that might be able to patch some things up — third-year forward Jae’Sean Tate. He’s missed the majority of the season with a right ankle injury, but all signs are pointing to his return to the lineup this week.
To me, Tate has always been great in a connective tissue role. When I watch Houston, I see players who need a push from point B to C. Tate has shown he’s capable of bridging that gap offensively. Even if he doesn’t have to be pounding the rock for eight or 10 seconds a possession, he’s great and brings plays together. He understands what Silas wants to do and puts it in action, even if it’s a simple quick handoff and screen for a shooter.
视频
Should his return help smoothen some things out? Or are their problems much bigger than that?
Jones: I think the different ways that you can use Tate offensively should help Houston. Can involve him in action, can catch and attack, drive a closeout and force more help. We’ve seen what he can do on the weakside as a cutter or even as a screener. Even catching a pass and swinging it to keep things moving should give them a boost. Those are the little things that could bring a level of consistency to Houston offensively. Will have to see how he’s used, but his skill set should smoothen things out.
