Houston Rockets: Can They Turn Their Season Around After a Rocky Start?

Entering the season, expectations were high for many Rockets fans. The Rockets would finally get their star center, Yao Ming, back from injury, Courtney Lee was expected to solidify the second unit's defensive mentality and a move back to power forward was supposed to make Chuck Hayes all the more useful. 

Unfortunately, there is no word to describe the start of the Rockets season other than disappointing, especially for the fans who believed that Yao Ming would transform both the offensive and defensive mindset of the team. The Rockets faced a brutal schedule, seven sprained ankles in less than two months, and medical restrictions and quickly fell to 0-5 to start the season. 

They have recently given fans reason for optimism, winning three of four against the league's bottom-feeders, seemingly regaining their confidence along the way. Was this successful stretch a sign of genuine improvement or merely the product of an easy schedule? Can the Rockets right the ship and make the playoffs?

Unfortunately for the Rockets, the poor start was not simply a case of bad luck. While the health issues and the brutal schedule played a part in the rough beginning to the season, the Rockets made their bed, so to speak. The defense was nonexistent, the turnovers piled up, and the offense completely shut down at the end of games. 

It was almost as if the Rockets were looking for new ways to lose each game. 

While defensive and turnover-related issues are fixable to a certain degree, the Rockets are going to struggle mightily in the strong Western Conference to win games without a true closer. Throughout basketball history, every great team has had someone capable of taking over games late. Kobe Bryant does it for the Lakers, Michael Jordan did it for the Bulls and Larry Bird did it for the Celtics. 

The Rockets have nobody who can create his own offense at the end of games, and thus will continue to struggle. Aaron Brooks' three-point barrage at the end of games often does more harm than good, Kevin Martin disappears like a ghost in the fourth quarter, Yao Ming is not healthy enough to be counted on as anything more than a situational player and Luis Scola's game, while crafty, is not good enough to be counted on to close out games.

To put it bluntly, the Rockets have an identity crisis. There is not a single player they can trust to take over games and this fact hurts the Rockets' hopes for a turnaround. 

Looking at the teams above them, each team has that one player they can count on to win them games late. The Hornets have Chris Paul, the Lakers have Kobe Bryant, the Mavericks have Dirk Nowitzki, and so on and so on. 

There's no way the Rockets are this bad—a team with as much talent as the Rockets have should not be 3-6, but without a major trade to bring in a closer, the Rockets realistic ceiling is a quick appearance in the playoffs. No team that struggles so mightily defending and scoring at the end of games could hope for more.

"We have a great bunch of outside shooters. Unfortunately, all our games are played indoors." - Weldon Drew