Houston Rockets: Key Takeaways From the Preseason

The preseason showed flashes of this upcoming regular season. Will everything that was seen in the preseason translate?

Oct 17, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun (28) shoots against San Antonio Spurs forward Sandro Mamukelashvili (54) in the second quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images / Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

The regular season is finally upon us. After a six-month offseason, Houston is ready to win. The preseason showed three big factors going into the season: Coach Ime Udoka's lineups, defense, and their incredible offense.

Udoka showed some interesting lineup schemes against the San Antonio Spurs. Tari Eason was always on the floor with Amen Thompson, and that stood out. Both being big defensive factors for Houston, they can force turnovers and crash the boards very aggressively. The two rising star defenders on the court together can cause nightmares for opposing teams' offense.

Jabari Smith Jr. was always on the court with Alperen Sengun and lot of plays were drawn up for both Smith Jr. and Sengun in the same play. These schemes involved Smith Jr. getting open for three on an off-ball screen, while Sengun would run a pick and roll with either Fred VanVleet or Reed Sheppard to get an open layup.

Houston's defense only looked good when either Reed Sheppard, Tari Eason, Amen Thompson, or Steven Adams were on the floor. Defense surely might not win every game, but it wins championships. The Rockets need to treat every game like it's their last in order for a chance to make the playoffs, which players have said is their goal.

Even then, their defense was not too hot in the preseason given they allowed 110 points per game, which is not bad, but it is certainly not great. Houston ranked 16th in points allowed.

Although the Rockets ranked in the middle of the league for points allowed per game, they still managed to have a defensive rating of 103.3 and rank ninth in the league. Last year, they ranked 10th in the regular season. This season, Houston needs to move up a few spots. Eason is healthy and Thompson is going into the season healthy, Sheppard was a great pickup for offense and has a good defensive ceiling, as well as Adams being healthy. Houston has the chance to be a top-seven defensive team.

The Rockets' offense looked outstanding in the preseason. Finishing fourth in the league, scoring 120 points per game in the preseason, Houston showed who they could be as a team offensively this season. They looked great, aside from their three-point shooting. As a team, they only shot 32.9 percent from three, a number that has to go up.

Houston can be the playoff team that it hopes to be. The Rockets' biggest challenges right now are their three-point shooting and point allowed per game, but with Udoka as their coach, improvements are bound to be shown.

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