Milwaukee Bucks: 3 things to watch for vs. Houston Rockets in Orlando

Milwaukee Bucks: 3 things to watch for vs. Houston Rockets in Orlando – Where Houston left off

Before the season came to a pause, there’s no question that the Houston Rockets stood as one of the more fascinating NBA teams.

It was their midseason acquisition of Robert Covington, which also combined for the departure of starting center Clint Capela, ahead of the NBA trade deadline that really shook up their squad and provided the next evolution for the Rockets under general manager Daryl Morey.

With Covington in the fold and essentially toggling center duties between himself and veteran forward P.J. Tucker, the Rockets have clearly taken the concept of small ball and have gone to the extremes with it. And given that Capela was hampered by injuries, it was a necessary pivot to make in order to maximize their performance this season.

Currently 41-24 on the season, they’re 9-6 since acquiring Covington from the Minnesota Timberwolves and forming their new starting unit. And over that time, the Rockets’ offense ranks seventh in offensive efficiency, per NBA.com/stats.

So while they’re very far from traditional, the Rockets’ five-out offense has been absolutely critical in maximizing the fit of Russell Westbrook, in particular, as he’s given the Rockets the up-tempo penetrator to perfectly play off of the methodical James Harden.

Of course, with the major size deficiencies they have, the Rockets’ defensive structure has far from gelled at this point. While they rank 17th in defensive efficiency since acquiring Covington, they’re the worst defensive rebounding team in the league by defensive rebounding percentage.

Considering the Bucks stand on the opposite end of that spectrum, that may be music to their ears. But with the Rockets launching a multitude of threes and stretching the floor that could test the Bucks’ base defense to mitigate that problem, what breaks first will be very fascinating to watch.