Let’s start with the obvious: the Houston Rockets are the NBA’s hottest team by virtue of their current 11-game winning streak. Shooting guard Jalen Green could soon be accepting the Western Conference Player of the Month award for his elite play in March.
With that out of the way, let’s get to another big reason they have blazed through March with a 13-1 record. The halftime adjustments made by head coach Ime Udoka and his staff, and those could lead to Udoka winning conference Coach of the Month honors.
Throughout the month, the coaching staff meticulously took physical and mental notes throughout the first half of the miscues on both ends of the court. Those were relayed to players at halftime, and the team responded and made the necessary adjustments.
For example, on March 19, the Rockets took a 3-point lead into halftime against the Wizards at Washington’s Capital One Arena. During the intermission, Udoka sternly told the team they were not playing to their potential, and they were allowing a team missing key players due to injury to hang around.
“My message was, we are playing with the game, messing around with the game,” Udoka said in his postgame comments.
Houston responded by holding the Wizards to 57 second-half points (while scoring 77 themselves) in the 137-114 victory. Earlier this season, the Rockets might not have responded to their head coach’s message, but his words hit home at the right time.
Entering Sunday, Houston still has a realistic path to make the Western Conference play-in tournament. It trails the Golden State Warriors (39-34) by one game for the final slot.
During Houston’s 11-game winning streak, it has been outscored in the second half only twice, and both were games during which the starters were removed early. In seven blowout wins, Houston has averaged a final victory margin of 17.5 points.
On March 6, the Los Angeles Clippers outscored the Rockets after halftime, 78-59, and they won that game. Since then, Houston hasn’t lost. The team’s defense has been the key to its second-half resurgences, with the Rockets holding opponents to fewer than 50 points four times; to 25 points or less in a quarter 10 times; and 20 points or less in a quarter five times.
Udoka’s messages will need to continue resonating over the season’s final two weeks, since Houston is scheduled to face six teams vying for postseason spots in the West over its final nine games.
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