Milwaukee Bucks Game Preview: Jan. 18 at Houston Rockets

Major Key For Houston: Play Some Offense/Defense

The assumption before this regular season was that the Rockets would be a top two or three offensive team, but that their defense would be too god-awful to stop anybody from putting up tons of points on them.

Everybody was right about Houston’s blazing offensive attack, but not so much about their defense. The Rockets are 16th in the NBA in defensive rating, and their point per game mark ranks a lot lower mostly because of the fast pace that Houston employs.

Being 16th isn’t great, but it’s enough to win most nights considering how damn good Houston’s offense is. There are two marks that have been important for the Rockets halfway through the 2016-17 NBA season.

When the team scores above 120, Houston is 16-0 (they lost a game where they scored exactly 120 points, though). When the Rockets allow 100 points or less, they are 13-0. Only three of those games overlap, meaning even if the Rockets score less than 120 and hold their opponent to 100 of less, they’re 10-0.

Houston can be good either offensively or defensively on a given night and have a good shot to win, even without doing both. Obviously if they score 120 and allow under 100 they’re winning for sure, but the Rockets usually only need to be good on one side of the floor to leave a game with a win.