Which Rockets Lead the Team in Defensive Rating?

When looking at defensive rating for the Houston Rockets the team leader is not a surprise but second place may not be as obvious.

Mar 27, 2024; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Houston Rockets head coach Ime Udoka watches his team play against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second quarter at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images / Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

The Houston Rockets are seeking their fifth win of the season on Wednesday night as they host the San Antonio Spurs. This will be the third matchup between these Texas rivals this season. The Rockets won the last meeting, tying the season series at one game each.

Although it is early in the season, we can begin to analyze the numbers to understand how the Rockets have achieved their 4-3 record. The Rockets' season has been inconsistent, featuring wins against solid teams like the Mavericks and Knicks but disappointing losses to the Hornets and Spurs.

A few statistics are particularly noteworthy, and you may be surprised to see who ranks high in one defensive category. The Rockets made significant improvements on defense as a team, finishing in the top ten last season. They aim to sustain this level of performance in the upcoming 2024-25 season.

Just like their record, it has been a mixed bag of results. On the season Dillon Brooks has the best defensive rating on the team at 101.7. Brooks has been the Rockets' best all-around defender since signing as a free agent before last season. That is a 12-point difference compared to 2023-24.

Even with Brooks' defense slipping last season, it's unsurprising that he leads the Rockets in this category. Second place, however, may surprise some people. Alperen Sengun is well known for having one of the best postgames in the NBA.

Since being drafted by the Rockets in 2021, he has been one of their best offensive players. However, his performance on defense has been notably different. It has taken time for Sengun to adjust to teams frequently targeting him in pick-and-roll situations. Even during this season, he has sometimes struggled on the defensive end.

We have seen Sengun improve on that end of the court throughout his career. It was a time when Sengun would be in foul trouble more times than not, and he has done a better job at getting to the correct spot and being in a better position.

On the season, Sengun has a 106.5 defensive rating, a huge improvement over last season. Of course, with any statistic that factors in the overall team success, like offensive or defensive ratings, it's not always easy to separate if the player is the reason for the rating or if it has more to do with who he is on the court.

If you consider the other starters on the team, you'll see that Sengun's improved defensive rating is more related to his performance than to the players he shares the court with. Sengun has a better defensive rating than Jabari Smith, Jalen Green, and Fred VanVleet.

Ime Udoka does have a quicker hook when it comes to who he believes is not playing well on defense. If a player is having a great offensive game but struggling on defense, Udoka will always factor in defense first. Even though the defensive rating says otherwise, we may still see Sengun on the bench sometimes in late-game situations.

If you watch the games you do see improvment from Sengun on defense. WIll he ever be a lockdown defender? Probably not but he can be at time a plus defender who is not a liablity on that side of the court. The Rockets are only seven games in so its hard to judge how much improvement we will see but at least in this one category Sengun has made a huge improvement.

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