The Team With the Best Offseason That No One is Talking About

MIAMI, Fl. — The Rockets had just raced down the floor and had tied the game at 95 on a difficult Jalen Green layup. 0.7 seconds remained for the Heat to end what should have been an easy game for Miami in the first place. Erik Spoelstra had drawn up a play called “CQ”—named after assistant coach Chris Quinn who originally created the play in a scrimmage during the NBA bubble, where Miami reached the Finals. Rockets head coach Stephen Silas begged his young team not to switch in the huddle before the final play. With Gabe Vincent ready to inbound, Max Strus set a phantom screen, trying to trick his man into switching onto Bam Adebayo so he would be unguarded. Despite what Silas told his squad, Daishen Nix switched onto Adebayo, who was already being guarded by Kenyon Martin Jr. With Nix now absent from the play, and Strus wide open at the top of the key, Rockets forward Jae’Sean Tate left Jimmy Butler to mark the sharpshooter, Strus, giving Butler a wide open lane straight to the hoop. Vincent found him, and Butler threw down the game winning slam. CQ, in classic gritty, technical Miami fashion, had worked.

Since that play, which advanced Miami to 31-25, the Heat made their second Finals appearance in four seasons, showing that while the NBA is turning into an offensively oriented game, there are other ways to win. In fact, Miami had one of the lowest ranked offenses in terms of PPG, rating, efficiency, and pace last season. They showed that their combination of defense, toughness, and experience can still be a blueprint for success. So, you’d think that with the inevitable edition of Damian Lillard in the coming weeks, I’d be highlighting the Heat as the team with the best offseason. You thought wrong.

Fans and analysts immediately criticized the Houston Rockets for their offseason acquisitions. The Rockets paid Fred VanVleet $130M over three years, and gave Dillon Brooks an additional $80M for four years. On the surface, it looks like the Rockets overpaid these two free agents because of their inefficient shooting numbers last season. VanVleet shot just 39.3% from the field and 34.2% from distance—the lowest mark of his career. Brooks—who is infamous some of his borderline statements and antics last season—shot just as badly, with splits of 39.6% (career low) and 32.6%. However, I believe that Houston’s moves are underrated. To me, they addressed their biggest needs: defense, toughness, accountability, and experience. You know, the little things. In fact, Houston’s re-tooled squad resembles those of the Heat ever since they acquired Jimmy Butler—a team that no matter the personnel or the circumstance, always seems to win by doing those little things right. With that in mind, let’s look a little deeper at the Rockets offseason.

Additions: Fred VanVleet (3 yr, $130M), Dillon Brooks (4 yr, $80M), Jock Landale (4 yr, $32M), Jeff Green (2 yr, $19.2M), Amen Thompson (4th pick in the 2023 draft), Cam Whitmore (20th pick in the 2023 draft), and Ime Udoka (head coach).

Subtractions: TyTy Washington ($2.2M), Boban Marjanovic ($807K), Frank Kaminsky ($2.5M), Usman Garuba ($2.5M), and Stephen Silas (head coach).

The names speak for themselves, and show that the Rockets roster has drastically improved from last season. Despite this, people are still skeptical because of the shooting numbers. Let’s examine some numbers that show why the Rockets really had an outstanding offseason.

Defense

(All following figures are in reference to last season).

Last year, the Rockets were one of the worst defensive teams in the league, allowing the third most points per game. They were also 29th in defensive rating, second only to San Antonio.

Among all 188 guards with at least 35 games played, Brooks was 26th in DRTG.

Among all 188 guards with at least 35 games played, VanVleet was 96th in DRTG (not eye-popping, but for 6-foot guard, this is not bad).

Among all 384 players with 35 games played, Landale was 8th in DRTG.

Hustle Stats

During the Heat’s Eastern Conference Semifinals series against New York, ESPN writer, Kirk Goldsberry, wrote an article that examined whether Heat Culture—a phrase referring to the Heat’s knack of always doing the little things right—is real. He determined that it does in fact exist through several hustle stats.

The Heat finished 1st in deflections per game of all playoff teams, and the Rockets finished 17th in the regular season. It’s worth noting that the Raptors had the most deflections of all teams last year with VanVleet at the forefront of the operation.

Among all 539 players, VanVleet was 1st in total deflections.

Among all 539 players, Brooks was 44th in total deflections.

Among all 87 centers with at least 35 games played, Landale was 33rd in deflections per 36 minutes.

Miami also boasted the highest number of loose balls recovered per game in the postseason. Although Houston finished in 8th in this statistic, their free agent signings bolster their hustle defense even more. Despite their success with loose ball recovery, Houston was 29th in percentage of loose balls captured on defense.

Among all 539 players, VanVleet was 7th in total loose balls recovered.

Among all 539 players, VanVleet was 51st in % of loose balls recovered on defense.

Among all 539 players, Brooks was 64th in % of loose balls recovered on defense.

Finally, the Heat were 1st place in the league in screen assists. The Rockets, as expected, struggled in this category, finishing 29th in the league.

Among all 384 players with at least 35 games played, Landale was 16th in screen assists per 48 minutes.

Among all 57 players with at least 100 screen assists last season, Landale was 2nd in screen assists to minutes ratio (Bismack Biyombo was 1st).

We can’t forget about the additions of Thompson, and Whitmore either. Out of all players in the Big East, Whitmore was 17th in DRTG, and averaged 1.4 steals per game. Whitmore, who is 6’7 with a 6’8 wingspan, also had eight steals in a Summer League game about a week ago. Thompson, who is 6’7 with a 7’1 wingspan, averaged 2.3 steals per game for the City Reapers in the Overtime Elite league last year.

Finally, there is Ime Udoka, who needed only half a season to turn the Celtics into the best defensive team in the league by a landslide. His defensive principles and rough riding coaching style will do wonders for the Rockets, who need those two things more than anything.

Experience

What Miami lacked in talent and explosiveness, they made up for in experience and playoff pedigree last season. Their roster had more combined playoff games than almost every other team in the postseason, and 17 NBA Finals appearances prior to 2023. The Rockets, on the other hand, had the least playoff experience of any team last season. Their only players by the end of the season with any playoff experience were Frank Kaminsky and Boban Marjanovic, and both players didn’t get playing time in the majority of those games.

Rockets players’ playoff experience: 87 games

Rockets players’ total seasons: 38 seasons

Houston made sure to address their lack of experience with their four free agent signings.

New acquisitions’ playoff experience: 188 games

New acquisitions’ total seasons: 29 seasons

Here are some of their new signings’ individual accolades that will help the Rockets next season.

Jeff Green: 103 playoff games (26th among active players), 16 seasons, 2023 champ

Fred VanVleet: 52 playoff games, 7 seasons, 2019 champion

Dillon Brooks: 22 playoff games, 6 seasons, 2021 conference semifinalist

Jock Landale: 11 playoff games, 2 seasons, 2022 conference semifinalist

And then there’s the comparison between Silas and Udoka. Although Silas was a coach for 23 seasons (20 as an assistant), his teams only reached the playoffs 3 times, and never got further than the Western Conference semifinals. Udoka, on the other hand, made the playoffs in all 11 of his seasons as a coach (10 as an assistant), including 4 NBA Finals appearances (one as a head coach with Boston), and a championship as an assistant with San Antonio. Udoka also reached the playoffs four times in seven seasons as a player, as well as going to the Finals with the Lakers in his rookie year.

Accountability

When Brad Stevens was promoted to the title of General Manager after the 2021 postseason, it was clear that it was the right role for him. Stevens never had the strongest voice in the locker room, and although he was a brilliant basketball mind, it was clear that the Celtics needed a verbal leader. A New York Times article from earlier this year said, “With the Celtics, Udoka developed a reputation for being willing to hold players accountable.” Even after Joe Mazzulla was hired as the new head coach for Boston, Jayson Tatum stated the Udoka was the best coach he had ever had.

Houston needs a coach that holds their players accountable more than any team. Last season, ESPN’s NBA draft analyst, Jonathan Givony, reported, "When you talk to people around the NBA about Houston, you just don't hear good things about their culture, about their locker room.” Several players were also on record saying that the entire team was “a mess.”

Just a few weeks ago, Jalen Green made an appearance on Paul George’s podcast, Podcast P (my favorite podcast at the moment), and said that he would give rookie duties in his rookie year. As you’ll hear form George in the video embedded below, usually the veterans are the ones giving out the duties. In Houston, it seems, this is not the case, demonstrating that there is no hierarchy of power in the Rockets organization.

The presence of veterans—Green, VanVleet, and Brooks—and Udoka to hold his players accountable is exactly what the Rockets need to establish some sort of order in the workplace.

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Those improved three pillars of NBA success (defense, experience, and accountability) are the main reasons why I believe Houston had the best offseason of any team, and why I think the Rockets are play-in bound, even in a stacked Western Conference. Here are a couple more reasons to be optimistic about the Rockets.

Offensive Efficiency

Apart from VanVleet’s reckless shooting numbers last year, he wasn’t bad offensively.

Houston was 27th in offensive efficiency.

Among all 384 players with at least 35 games, VanVleet was 66th in offensive rating.

Houston had the second most turnovers.

Among all 384 players with at least 35 games, VanVleet was 19th in AST/TO ratio.

This is just the type of steady ball-handling that Houston needs to kick their offense up a notch.

Improvement

It’s important to remember that Houston has one of the youngest cores in the league with plenty of promise. Former 2nd overall pick, Jalen Green, averaged 22.1 PPG last year, and is one of the most explosive players in the game. Jabari Smith Jr. and Tari Eason both made the All-Rookie Second Team last season, and many believe that Alperen Sengun could be an all-star in 2024. There is plenty of room for growth from last season to this one.

Precedent

Once again, the primary reason for concern for Houston is the lack of proven shooting on the roster. However, like Houston, the Oklahoma City Thunder finished 14th in the Western Conference in the 2021-2022 season, and were a win away from making the playoffs in 2023. Their improvement wasn’t the result of a bolstered roster or great shooting. Here were the three-point percentages of the five most played OKC players in the 2021-2022 season.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: 30.0%

Luguentz Dort: 33.2%

Josh Giddey: 26.3%

Darius Bazley: 29.7%

Aaron Wiggins: 30.4%

The league average that year was 36.0%, so it’s clear that it didn’t take shooting for the Thunder to make their strides to become a play-in team. It took strong coaching from Mark Daigneault, a positive, well-run organization, improvement from young players, and draft picks, Jalen Williams and Jaylin Williams, to push Oklahoma City over the hump into becoming a playoff-caliber team.

Houston, because of their well-orchestrated offseason, is resemblant of an OKC last year. VanVleet, Brooks, Landale, Thompson, and Whitmore will improve their defense more than percentages and per game stats can show. Green, VanVleet, and Brooks will bring valuable veteran experience to Houston. Head coach Ime Udoka will help in more ways than one with his defensive-minded tactical approach, playoff experience as a player, assistant, and head coach, and his willingness to hold his players accountable. The bottom line is that the Rockets realized that it’s the little things they need to improve before the big spending, which is the right perspective to have if they want to make a Finals run of their own soon.