NBA Official Power Rankings Update! The Rockets have soared to fifth: where are the 9 wins in the last 11 games?

On November 19, Beijing time, the NBA officially updated the power list, and the Rockets, who won five consecutive games, soared from 12th to 5th in the previous period, and they also became the team that rose the most in this power list. The Rockets have won nine of their last 11 games, and they currently sit third in the West with a 10-4 record. What is the strength of this hot team?

Is it really possible to hit 60 wins?

The Rockets are 10-4 and have a 71.4% win rate. Fox Sports said that if they maintain this winning percentage, the Rockets can play 59 wins this season. The Rockets' all-time record is 65 wins, set by Harden in the 2017-18 season. Can today's rockets be close to what they were at the same time? Not necessarily, I'm afraid However, this win rate also proves that the Rockets were in excellent form at the beginning of the season.

After 14 games, the Rockets ranked 11th in the league in offensive efficiency at 114.1 and 3rd in the league in defensive efficiency at 105.4. The net efficiency is +8.7, which is also the 5th place in the league.

What has changed for the Rockets from last year's first 14 games? At the time, the Rockets had an 8-6 record. His offensive efficiency is 111.9, which ranks 23rd in the league, his defensive efficiency is 106.8, which ranks first in the league, and his net efficiency is +5.1, which is tied for fifth in the league. Regardless of the specific rankings, the Rockets' offensive and defensive efficiency and net efficiency are better than the same period last season, and compared to themselves, their improvement is quite obvious.

In the next four games, the Rockets will play the Bucks who started the season 4-9 on the road today, and then at home against the Pacers and Trail Blazers (twice). The next 10 games will be tough fixture challenges as eight of them are played away from home. It is still difficult for the Rockets to maintain their current win rate.

An increasingly threatening defense

The challenge is getting bigger and bigger, and the Rockets have plenty of confidence as their defense is becoming more and more threatening. During the nine-of-11 game, the Rockets' defensive efficiency was 104.4, ranking second in the league and first in the West. In those 11 games, their net efficiency (+10.0) was the highest in the league.

During the five-game winning streak, the Rockets made the opponent's shooting percentage lower and lower, and the opponent's shooting rate in the five games was 42.9%, 40.9%, 39.6%, 37.8% and 33.6% respectively. They shot just 46.7 percent from the field (the second-lowest in the league during the same period) and scored twice as many points against the Bulls (80 to 40).

Of course, this also has something to do with the opponent's offensive strength, after all, none of the opponents in these five games ranked in the top 18 in the league in offensive efficiency.

Individually, Shin Kyung's defensive performance is also improving. Last season, Shen Jing shot 61.1% from the field when he defended the basket, and so far this season, the opponent has only shot 55.2% (58 of 105) when he has defended the basket.

There's still plenty of room for improvement in the offense

The Rockets are nowhere near at their strongest because their offense still has a huge room for improvement. So far this season, the Rockets have shot just 44.6 percent, ranking 22nd in the league, and three-point shooting percentage, which ranks 28th in the league at 32.7 percent. During the five-game winning streak, the Rockets shot 46.3% from the field, which has improved, but it is still not very good.

Even so, the Rockets still rank ninth in offensive efficiency so far this season, ranking fourth in the league in points scored on turnovers per game (19.7), second in secondary offense points per game (18.4), fifth in fast-break points per game (17.5) and sixth in the league in on-box points per game (53.1).

While the Rockets are at the bottom of the pack for ball movement (just 290 passes per 24 minutes of possession), their offense is still fairly balanced. During the five-game winning streak, seven players averaged between 12 and 21 points per game.

In the 2022-23 season, the Rockets only have a 22-60 record and are in 14th place in the West. Last season, the Rockets were 41-41 and in 11th place in the West. Can the Rockets make another giant leap this season? Let's wait and see.