Houston Rockets: 5 Reasons to Not Sleep on This Team

In all likelihood, the Houston Rockets are a better team than you think, unless you're a Houston Rockets fan. Last year they had the most disparity between their actual wins and their Pythagorean Wins. 

For those that don't know, Pythagorean Wins is how many games you "should have won" based on things like strength of schedule, offensive rating, defensive rating and margin of victory. 

While a large part of basketball is skill, there's a bit of luck involved, too. You get a call or don't get a call and it can be the difference in a game. 

The Rockets were the most victimized team by the ball bouncing the wrong the way last year. They actually were a "playoff team" in terms of talent last year.

This year, they're better. Don't sleep on these Rockets. They have a chance to advance in the waning west.

Here are five reasons why. 

Samuel Dalembert

Last year the Houston Rockets were manned in the middle by Chuck Hayes, a 6'6" center. While he was both quick and strong, the Rockets were typically outproduced in the paint by their opponents. 

This year, that's changed. They've gone from being short in the paint to being long in the paint. Dalembert is still struggling to find his groove, but already the trend has changed so Jordan Hill is getting the starts, but eventually he will work his way into the starting role.

So far this year the Rockets are a plus-2.4 in efficiency in the paint. That's a five-point turnaround form last year. 

Bench Scoring

The Rockets bench is tied for the 10th-highest scoring bench in the NBA. Led by Courtney Lee and Dalembert, they are scoring 34.5 points per game. 

They are also getting some help from less-heralded players such as Terrence Williams and Chandler Parsons, who combine for 12.3 points per game. 

Luis Scola

People are awfully quick to throw out the "underrated tag," but Luis Scola is truly among the more underrated players in the league. Scola matured late, having his breakout year last year when he posted 18 points and eight boards a game. 

Scola is not an "All-Star" but he is a "Near-Star" who is a valuable piece of the puzzle. Last year he ranked as the 13th-best power forward in the league in efficiency differential.

With Kevin McHale now his head coach, look for that to improve. 

Kevin Martin

Kevin Martin showed he has no problem with a back-to-back-to-back. In fact maybe he likes them. Martin racked up 73 points on just 48 shots in the three-game tour. 

Martin is one of the better pure scorers in the league. He keeps defenses honest.

Between the inside presence of Scola and the outside presence of Martin, the Rockets just need the right point guard to make it all work (this is what we in literature call foreshadowing).

Kyle Lowry

Move over Derrick Rose, Chris Paul and Deron Williams, someone wants to force their way into this whole "Who's the best point guard in the league?" debate. 

Here's a quick trivia question for you: Who leads the NBA assists?

I'll give you a hint, he also leads NBA point guards in PER and he's second among point guards in Win Shares. 

The answer is Kyle Lowry.

He might not be the biggest man on the floor, but he doesn't let that stop him. The little general is averaging 13.3 points and 11.5 assists per game. With Lowry leading the way, the Rockets could very well be on their way to a postseason run.