The Houston Rockets’ worst stretch of the season came in their first two games of the season, dropping two straight games against the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Detroit Pistons, two teams currently at the top of the standings in their respective conferences.
Since then, the Rockets have won 14 of their last 17 games, sitting a half-game back from the Los Angeles Lakers for the second seed.
The Rockets haven’t taken back-to-back losses since those first two losses, and they’ve bounced back well since those opening defeats. The Rockets have developed an ability to respond to losses by playing well on both sides the following game.
In Houston’s four wins that followed losses, the offense is averaging slightly more than 123 points per game.
The Rockets are able to respond to the things they did poorly from prior games, and they have a strong enough offense to be able to avoid extended cold streaks with their shooting or finishing. They have maintained a strong offense that performs relatively well even in losses.
Kevin Durant and Alperen Sengun are big parts of Houston’s resilience, as they aren’t likely to have two bad games in a row.
The collection of players who occupy varying importance in the offense behind that duo also have a few players who step up to provide necessary offense in these bounce back games. Amen Thompson, Jabari Smith Jr., Reed Sheppard, and Aaron Holiday have each had important moments for the offense throughout the early part of the season.
Their ability to respond on the offensive end following a loss has been a big factor to the team avoiding back-to-back losses since the start of the season.
Houston’s defense after a loss is a significant reason behind the team’s ability to avoid streaks of poor play.
In their four wins after a loss, they are holding teams to an average of just less than 103 points per game. Their defense has stayed elite, creeping into the top five after a slower start to the season.
While the Rockets are still trying to figure out the balance on both sides during late game situations, they have developed both an offense and a defense that can avoid significant stretches of poor quality.
This is an important development if it can continue to stay true throughout the season. Even the best teams lose in the postseason, but avoiding back-to-back losses or losing streaks in the regular season is good preparation for battling through adversity in the playoffs.