Work in progress

Rockets believe they haven't reached their "peak" yet

The Houston Rockets have won 7 out of their last 10 games and on Sunday night, they climbed to the third seed in the Western Conference. All things considered, that's a pretty good spot for a title contender to be in early January. However, if you ask them, they have higher aspirations than that.

"Not bad," said Mike D'Antoni said at practice. "We want to be first. We still have a goal to finish first. [It's] definitely doable."

As it stands, the Rockets are 4.5 games behind the first seeded Los Angeles Lakers. It's not impossible to catch up, but it will require a high level of excellence to close out the season. It would be a level that they themselves will tell you they haven't exhibited yet.

"We still haven't hit our peak yet," said Eric Gordon. "We're doing what we need to do as far as winning games, but we haven't had games where we've shown complete dominance."

Gordon is spot on when he discusses the Rockets' lack of dominant games this season. Though the Rockets are the third seed in the Western Conference, they trail teams like the Clippers (fourth seed) and Mavericks (sixth seed) in Net RTG, per cleaningtheglass.com. When you subtract garbage time, the Rockets are only beating teams by 4.9 points per 100 possessions. There are five teams in the NBA with higher differentials and the top two (Boston and Milwaukee) have nearly double the number.

"We'll be able to tell by how much we're clicking by having big leads in a game, sustaining a lead throughout the game, and having good starts," said Gordon. "That's when I can tell that we're locked in and really focused on what we need to do to win a championship."

As Gordon mentioned, the Rockets have not started games as well as they would like to. In first quarters this season, Houston is barely edging out their opponents (2.9 points per 100 possessions - 11th in the NBA). They tend to ramp it up in the second quarter (8.0 net rating - 6th), they peak in the third quarter (12.0 net rating - 4th), and then let go of the rope in a major way in fourth quarters (-2.3 net rating - 21st). The bottom completely falls out, specifically on defense where the Rockets have allowed 111.8 points per 100 possessions in fourth quarters (25th). This kind of inconsistent effort has contributed to why the Rockets haven't blown out teams as much as they would like.

However, there's still time to change that and it starts with convincingly beating bad teams. This is something the Rockets have struggled mightily with this season. Among the top six teams in the Western Conference, the Rockets have the worst winning percentage against below .500 teams (16-6 record).

"That's been our achilles heel since I've been here - kind of playing down to our competition," said P.J. Tucker. "For us, I think it's more challenging to win those games, because in all the big games, we usually play well. In not so big games, we don't bring as much energy, as much focus, and we tend to get in trouble. So, it's just the focus."

They will have an opportunity to improve upon that record this month as four out of their next five opponents are below .500. The Hawks in particular have the worst winning percentage in the NBA this season (8-29 record). There's no such thing as a guaranteed win in the NBA, but the Hawks are close. Houston dismantled Atlanta on November 30th (final score of 158-111), but as Tucker said, the Rockets can't rest on their laurels.

"Usually in those games we don't get off to a great start," continued Tucker. "When teams aren't doing so well, they get it going early. Then, they'll be trouble later in the game. So, we'll look to be aggressive early for sure."

To Houston's credit, they've played most of the season without a healthy roster. Wednesday will mark the third straight game since Clint Capela and Eric Gordon both returned to the lineup. They still have time to correct their inconsistencies and try and reach a new level of excellence if they hoan in on their defense and late game issues.

"The season is going to be the season," said Tucker. "We're going to have ups and downs. As long as everybody can stay consistent, as long as we stay healthy, I think we'll keep improving and keep looking better."

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DeMeco values leadership at the QB position above all else. Composite image by Brandon Strange.

With the NFL Draft getting closer and closer, it is becoming more likely the Houston Texans will be taking a quarterback with its No. 2 overall pick.

With a plethora of options available — from Bryce Young, CJ Stroud, Will Levis or Anthony Richardson — head coach DeMeco Ryans recently talked about what quality he believes a quarterback should have in the NFL. It is leadership.

“Is that quarterback a guy who can galvanize a locker room and rally the troops and get guys to believe in him,” Ryans said. “That's the trait. It's easier said than done because only so few guys can do that.”

While it may be cliché, Ryans makes a great point about why leadership is a non-negotiable for his play caller.

The quarterback position is the face of the franchise. He is the person media talk to every single week, and is the person who gets a huge share of the credit or blame when it comes to the team’s success or lack thereof.

Whoever the Texans pick at No. 2, if it indeed is a quarterback, will also be tasked with leading Houston throughout its rebuild on the field. But how can the team’s staff evaluate leadership?

As advanced as stats have gotten over the years, there is nothing you can look at to quantify leadership points. It all depends on personal evaluation.

For Houston, the decision on whom the next quarterback for the team is, could well be made over the course of the next few days.

The Texans will bring both Young and Stroud to Houston for individual meetings, according to Aaron Wilson. Both have consistently been quarterback No. 1 and No. 2 throughout the entire process.

There is no doubt Ryans and general manager Nick Caserio will be trying to gauge where each respective prospect ranks in leadership when they step foot in NRG Stadium.

Ryans believes the franchise quarterback needs to be seen by his teammates both on offense and defense and instill confidence in them that he can be counted on to make a play. Hosting prospects is one way to get a gauge in that area, which the Texans will have the opportunity to do.

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