Opponents Houston Rockets Are Most Likely to Struggle with This Season
The Houston Rockets’ 2013-14 campaign is one of the more hyped in the NBA.
It’s also one of the harder to predict among potential contenders: the acquisition of Dwight Howard is hugely positive, but it will also force the team to tinker with its playing style considerably before finding its best basketball identity.
And certain teams look poised to throw wrenches into Houston’s efforts regardless of where the Rockets end up with their playbook.
The Warriors are loaded with shooters like Steph Curry and Klay Thompson who are more than capable of stretching defenses out. This keeps their offense out of Dwight Howard’s wheelhouse—the paint—and puts Houston’s otherwise weak defense to the test.
In Andre Iguodala the Warriors now also have a defender who will be as good as anyone at the onerous task of guarding James Harden. Iguodala’s prowess in the open court should also be anathema to the aggressive fast-breaking that the Rockets used to blow games open last season.
Perhaps most importantly is that these two were fiercely embattled in each of their regular-season bouts last season. Both teams were having breakout years in which they ended long playoff droughts and rose in the ranks of the claustrophobic Western Conference. Like two little brothers vying for long-due attention from mom, they went at each other relentlessly.
Now, both teams have upgraded their talent and are looking to carry their momentum from last season over into even higher territory. It’s Western Conference Finals or bust in these two locker rooms. Look for their mutual urgency to create some terrific matchups.
Although the Indiana Pacers and Rockets, in opposite conferences, will only face off twice in the regular season, their games should be revealing. They’re also a preview of a dark-horse NBA Finals matchup.
Roy Hibbert is one of the few centers in the league with the size and skill to regularly give Dwight Howard trouble. And make no mistake, Dwight’s presence is Houston’s single greatest strength. The center position is just at that big of a deficit in the NBA.
Indiana also boasts a hellish perimeter defense that’s bound to deny Houston the easy outside shots it’ll easily squeeze out of lesser opponents with its inside-outside talent.
Simply put, Indiana is a team that could do what few others (perhaps the Chicago Bulls are similarly problematic) this season could do. They could cause the Rockets problems scoring the ball.
Between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Rockets, it’s personal.
James Harden’s shocking trade to the Rockets at the beginning of last season has led to a fever-pitched rivalry between the squads that peaked in last year’s rowdy first-round playoff pairing.
Many in Oklahoma City also feel that Russell Westbrook’s torn meniscus—the injury that dashed the Thunder’s title hopes—is the fault of Rockets point guard Patrick Beverley, who ran into Westbrook’s knee during the game in which the injury occurred. Expect the tension of this episode to raise tempers between the teams.
From a pure basketball perspective, the Thunder are problematic for Houston because of just how much scoring they’re capable of. It usually behooves the Rockets to get into shootouts because there are so few teams that can beat them in one—but consider these Thunder one of the squads that can.
Without developing a more solid defensive identity, the Rockets’ offensive affront is unlikely to be enough against a team that can boast two of the five best scorers in the game: Westbrook and, of course, Kevin Durant.
The San Antonio Spurs' offensive range will give Houston serious problems. Like the Thunder, they’re another team that the Rockets can’t afford to get into a scoring contest with. Tony Parker—as the agent of coach Gregg Popovich's unparalleled basketball strategizing—finds and exploits defensive weaknesses.
And although he'll be playing spare minutes this season, you can be sure that Tim Duncan will be on the floor to cause Dwight Howard problems. Duncan is still one of the best bigs in the league and one of a few people who can frustrate a sharp Howard on both ends of the floor.
Add in Kawhi Leonard guarding James Harden—and the Rockets figuring out how to guard Leonard—and you've got a wall that Houston can't easily get through.
The Spurs are of a more solid definition on the floor. Until the Rockets congeal into a similarly clear identity—by forming a reliable defense, above all—each of the more experienced contenders will have their way with them.
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