With all of the NBA’s 16 playoff teams having played at least four games, the Houston Rockets currently rank No. 1 in net defensive rating. It’s quite a turnaround for a group that scored the second-most points during the regular season, but ranked just No. 15 on defense.
Their usually dominant offense ranks only No. 9 out of 16, suggesting room for improvement in future games. But even in a relatively cold stretch for the offense, the Rockets still have a 3-2 lead in their series and are at No. 4 overall in net rating — thanks to the defense.
It is worth noting that Houston’s playoff opponent, the Oklahoma City Thunder, were a mediocre offense in the 2019-20 regular season — ranking No. 17 overall. Among teams in the 2020 NBA playoffs, only Brooklyn, Orlando, and Indiana were lower. As a result, it could be argued that some of Houston’s success is due to the opponent.
Even so, the Rockets have still outperformed the defenses (Toronto, Milwaukee, and Miami) who faced the lower offenses. It all culminated with Saturday’s historic Game 5 rout over the Thunder, when Houston held OKC to just 35 points in the second half and 80 for the game. The Thunder shot just 31.5% overall, including 7-of-46 on 3-pointers (15.2%).
Going by the 34-point final margin, it was the biggest playoff victory by the Rockets in franchise history.
In postgame media interviews, here’s what several members of the Rockets said about their defensive performance.
Forward Robert Covington:
The main thing we wanted to talk about was getting back to showing that wall. We know their team likes to drive, so in order for us to really be effective we have to help out our guys, not leaving them on an island. We did a good job of talking and cutting off drives. They were getting to their spots in the first half, but in the second half we really locked in. We really didn’t want to play around and once we got the lead, everything flowed after that.
Head coach Mike D’Antoni:
We were upset a little bit about giving up 31 points in the second [quarter]. That was what we were ticked off with at halftime. But they came out, righted the ship, and the defense was super.
For three quarters, our defense was really good. The second quarter, we kind of lost our way a little bit. But the defense was good overall. In that third quarter, excellent. I was really happy with our effort, and what we did.
Guard James Harden:
We did a better job of guarding the ball. Of guarding their isos and things like that. Trying to protect the paint. Individually, that’s where it starts. It starts from the ball. I think we did a good job individually of taking on the challenge, and our weak-side defense was better as well.
Defense played the bigger role. It’s always going to play the bigger role. I think offense and making shots is a bonus for us. Obviously, if we’re making shots, it makes our defense that much better because we’re able to get back in transition. I think defensively, we’re engaged. Fourteen points in that 1st quarter. Then we gave up a big [second] quarter. I think we relaxed a little bit. They picked the tempo up. They started pushing it more in transition. And in that second half, we just locked back in and got stops when we needed to.
The Rockets had 12 steals in Saturday’s Game 5 and forced 18 Thunder turnovers. Both were their highest marks of the entire series.
Danilo Gallinari, who led Oklahoma City in scoring for the 2019-20 season, had a season-low 1 point in Game 5 on only five shot attempts. Lu Dort, on the other hand, was baited by Houston’s defense into shooting a team-high 16 times, making only three of them (18.8%).
The Houston Rockets have the best defense in the NBA (101.8 rating)
If the first quarter was impressive, the third quarter was downright disrespectful. On a night where Houston forced 12 steals and 17 turnovers, 5 minutes was all they needed. https://t.co/iutp4q2WR6
— Kelly Iko (@KellyIkoNBA) August 30, 2020
Led by that defense, Houston has a chance in Monday’s Game 6 to clinch the series and advance to the second round. Historically, in NBA playoff series to be tied after four games, the winner of Game 5 has ultimately won the best-of-seven series more than 80% of the time.
Game 6 between the Rockets and Thunder tips off at 8:00 p.m. Central, with a national broadcast on TNT and a regional version (with Houston announcers) on AT&T SportsNet Southwest.
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