Surging Rockets inch closer to West Play-In Tournament spot

Don’t look now, but the HoustonRockets are back in the Western Conference playoffpicture.

With the Golden State Warriors’loss against the Minnesota Timberwolves and their win over thePortland Trail Blazers, the Rockets now sit just a half-game behindthe 10th and last play-in spot in the WesternConference.

After looking to be nowhere nearthe play-in tournament range with just a 25-34 record, the Rocketshave found a semblance of life again by winning 11 of their last 12games, including rattling off a nine-game winning streak (andcounting) to go above .500 on the season.

What makes the Rockets’ run evenmore impressive is they have done it even without young star centerAlperen Sengun, who went down with a lower leg injury. Sengun hasbeen leading the team in points (21.1), rebounds (9.3) and assists(5.0) for a young Rockets team that's hungry for some postseasonaction under first-year head coach Ime Udoka after rebuilding forthe past four years.

In Sengun’s absence, the Rocketshave been rejuvenated with a different style of play. They areplaying up and down the court, running and gunning and spacing thefloor as coach Udoka is making the most out of the roster inwithout their playmaking hub.

Much of this can be credited toJalen Green’s increased level of play. Before the streak, Green wasstruggling with his shot all year long, only averaging 17.9 points,4.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists on just 40/31/80 shooting splits. Overhis past 12 games, Green has amped up his level of play,significantly increasing his numbers by tallying 27.8 points, 5.8rebounds and 3.4 assists per game, while shooting 49.6% from thefield and 40.4% from three. And this has translated to wins forHouston.

In those 12 games, Green hasbeen relentlessly attacking the rim and playing with pace. Greenhas also been shooting more threes, and he has been making them ata respectable mark to force defenders to respect his shot. This hasallowed him to create opportunities in the paint as well asfacilitating for his teammates.

Due to his efforts, Green wasawarded a Western Conference Player of the Week award and hecertainly hopes to keep this up for the Rockets as they continue totrend upward and eventually catch the Warriors.

Another thing that has been hugein Houston’s hot stretch is unlocking Amen Thompson. The rookie outof Overtime Elite has struggled to start the season with a slew ofinjuries and a lack of playing time enough to contribute. This hashampered him and his ability to contribute.

However, when Sengun wasinjured, Thompson was inserted into the starting lineup and hasshone since the streak has started. The 6’7 guard/forward leads theRockets in fastbreak opportunities, and uses his athletic abilitiesto get out on transition. He has also proven to be a good cutterwhen he is off the ball to get easy buckets underneath the basket.His athleticism also gives him an advantage in finishing off plays,particularly on dunks and layups.

On defense, Thompson isdisruptive as a point-of-attack defender, using his length and sizeto bother opposing smaller point guards. Thompson uses his longlimbs to swipe at the ball, creating deflections and steals thatlead to easy transition baskets. At 6’7, Thompson is also anexcellent rebounder at his position and gives the Rockets plenty ofchances to run and leak out.

Finally, the Rockets have scoredmore and seemingly increased their level of play. This might bedirectly in correlation with Sengun being out, with other guys likeFred VanVleet, Dillon Brooks, Jabari Smith and even their benchguys doing more scoring to compensate for Sengun’s production. Thiscollected effort has been the key to their resurgence this season,and the Rockets hope to sustain it for the final stretch of theseason in which eight of their remaining 11 games are againstplayoff teams.