Copyright Sports Illustrated
The Houston Rockets' 2025-26 campaign has been pretty good, considering their warts and weaknesses. Although coach Ime Udoka isn't an offensive mind (far from it, actually), the Rockets rank first in offensive efficiency. They've fared far better than anticipated, even though they struggle to get the ball to Kevin Durant more often than one would like. For reference, Durant is taking just 16.3 shots per contest, which is a career low, even for Durant, who has been scrutinized for not taking enough shots. Yet and still, he's averaging 24.8 points on 62.6 percent true shooting. In other words, yet and still, he's Kevin Durant nonetheless. Like he infamously said, we know who he is. The Rockets have absolutely been lighting it up from the outside -- to the tune of 42.8 percent, which ranks first in the league. That's the good. The not-so-good is that Houston ranks dead last in 3-point attempts, taking just 29.3 outside shots per night. Furthermore, the Rockets have been quite sloppy and careless with the ball, which is where they really miss Fred VanVleet, who is sure-handed. Houston has averaged the second-most turnovers in the league this season, which is strange for an Ime Udoka coached team. However, they're clearly on the rise, winning six of their last seven games. Yahoo Sports' latest power rankings reflects the Rockets' rise, as they're now ranked as the league's fifth-best team, whereas they ranked seventh in the previous power rankings. The writer, Ben Rohrbach provided his reasoning. "As Amen Thompson is also breaking out, Rockets center Alperen Şengün smartly said, “Kevin [Durant] can have some off night, I can have some off night, and we always know someone is gonna show up. We have so much talent on the team. Everybody comes to win every night.” As for Amen Thompson, he put together a string of dominant performances against the Dallas Mavericks and Memphis Grizzlies, dropping 27 points and 28 points, while putting his freakish atleticism on display (especially against Dallas). The last time the Rockets took the floor, they found themselves trailing by double figures against the Milwaukee Bucks at the half. Houston stormed back and secured a victory, but not without the help of Reed Sheppard, who was an absoute menace on defense, with four steals and an impressive block from behind, not to mention the 16 points. Houston is humming right now.
