Houston Rockets: Three reasons why they’ve reached a turning point

Reason #3: Their recent performance as of late

Yes, I know I’m basing the future of this Houston Rockets‘ season off the past two games against the Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Lakers. But you’ve got to admit, that this new line up must’ve hyped-up your minds. Even though the combination of Chris Paul, Eric Gordon, P.J. Tucker, Clint Capela and Harden sounded horrible defensively, you just had to be at least somewhat curious about what they could do on offense.

But in my mind, the main concern was the bench. Throughout the season, the bench had looked terribly inconsistent even with Gordon.  I had thought of taking Gordon out of the equation but I thought it would demolish that unit’s purpose.  With the recent additions such as Gary Clark, the blow is softened a bit but I’m still concerned about the back court getting weary.

I didn’t expect Nene Hilario to make the impact he did. While it may not show up on the stat sheet, he had an intimidating presence in the paint and his muscle could box out a lot of players when hustling for rebounds.

Danuel House Jr. has shocked me as well, while I was aware he was a G-league star, I didn’t expect him to get the minutes he has been getting as of late.  He has been terrific.

Over the recent years, the Rockets haven’t given much opportunity to younger players through the draft or free agency.  It’s surprising to see that they had House playing so quickly and I’m glad they did as he has energized the bench in the absence of Gordon from the bench.

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It will be interesting to see if this three-guard starting lineup will continue. If it does, then House will be a bigger part of this team than what many had envisioned. If James Ennis re-enters into the starting lineup, then the trio of Gordon, House and Nene has to potential to be deadly off the bench.  Lest we not forget Gerald Green  — who never met a three-point shot he didn’t like — either.

I might be hyping up House a little too much but I’m really excited about finally giving a young kid some strong minutes, as the Rockets also did the same with Clark though it seems he has been pushed out of the rotation entirely. If House can keep up this level of play, it will give the Rockets more confidence with another scoring option.

But I have LOVED the home crowd these past two games. They seemed louder than ever and really looked like they wanted to get this team out of the hole. The Houston Rockets are built for better than a 13th seed in the West for damn sure.

Don’t be mistaken. I’m not expecting the Rockets to go on a 20-game win streak at the moment, as there will be losses on the way as this is a long season, folks. But at the way this team has played these past three games, maybe there’s a different approach for the better.

Stick to it Red Nation fans, the season isn’t over yet. An improved bench and belief is all it takes to turn this season around for the Houston Rockets and night-in/night-out tenacious effort on defense is always needed.

For all we know, the season is just getting started.