Offense gets the glory, but defense wins the game—it's a cliché, but a tried-and-tested reference to the importance of defense in title dreams across sports.
Consider this: prior to the Miami Heat's 2013 NBA title win, nine of the last 10 NBA championship teams were ranked among the top 10 teams in the league regarding defensive efficiency. Some of those teams had fearsome scorers like Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, LeBron James, Shaquille O'Neal and Dirk Nowitzki on their team. But they knew how to stop other teams from gaining momentum on offense.
It's a simple principle. Your team can have phenomenal offense, and drop 120 points a night against opponents, but it doesn't mean a thing if the other team is able to score 130 on you night after night. Unless you figure out how to contain teams on the other side of the ball, you're not going to get very far. No offense is that good.
Which brings us to the team in question: the Houston Rockets.
Ever since last season, the Rockets have been among the top offenses in the NBA. Armed with youth, athleticism and blistering scorers such as James Harden, Chandler and Jeremy Lin, this young up-and-coming team has put the league on notice with their fast-moving, sharpshooting, blitzkrieg-like offense. Add in superstar Dwight Howard to the equation and you have a fearsome new offensive force that has been setting the league on fire in the offensive categories. No. 1 in team points per game (109.1 points). Third in team field goal percentage (48.9 percent). Ranked 11th in team three-point percentage (37.8 percent). Harden is among the top five scorers in the league (24.5 points), while Parsons is in the top 30 (17.2 points). With a speed-oriented, fastbreak-loving tempo and plenty of scorers to go around, Houston has been running circles around their opponents en route to a 13-6 record, second in the Southwest Division.
But while the Rockets have been flying high on offense, when it comes to defense ... Houston, we have a problem.
And that problem has turned itself into a leaky "D" that has been giving up 103.1 points per night, second worst in the league behind Philadelphia (110.8 points allowed) while tied with the 76ers for the most turnovers in the NBA at 18.1 cough-ups per game.
They have a few saving graces. Houston is only giving up 42.7 percent of contested field goals to opponents, tied for third-best in the NBA in that category with Oklahoma City, Charlotte, San Antonio and Denver, and they're tied for fourth with Denver in team rebounds with 46.1 boards per night. However, that's not nearly enough to make up for the miscues and snafus regarding turnovers and their weak defense around the perimeter.
That problem will particularly haunt them against veteran teams that capitalize on mistakes like the Miami Heat—who are notorious for converting turnovers into easy highlight reel points—their state rival San Antonio, or more recently, against the Phoenix Suns Wednesday. Yeah, the 9-9 Suns are struggling to stay afloat, but they also lead the league in fast-break points with 19.7 per game. Against teams like that, which capitalize on mistakes, the young Rockets could easily go from an easy win to a stunning upset.
And that's just the Suns. If the Rockets don't adjust their game plan to make the tweaks in defense that they need, they won't be able to keep pace with the Spurs and Heat and Pacers of the world. Consider this: of the top 10 best defensive teams in the NBA that limit their opponents to under 100 points a game, five of them are NBA title contenders—Indiana, San Antonio, Memphis, Miami and Oklahoma City—and three of them are Western Conference teams that can go very deep in the playoffs.
That's three teams that the Rockets could have to go through once the playoffs kick off in the spring. Two of those teams, Oklahoma City and San Antonio—the last two NBA Finalists for the West—have an offense that can be just as potent as the Rockets.
It was Oklahoma City that eliminated the Rockets in the first round of the playoffs in April, the major difference ultimately being the Rockets' inability to contain the potent OKC offense led by Kevin Durant, even after Russell Westbrook went down to an injury during that time. The Rockets mounted a late series comeback that nearly pushed the Thunder to a Game 7 situation. But it could have been a much different series if the Rockets had managed to contain the Thunder offense to below 100 points, which OKC reached in all six games of the series.
The Rockets' relentless full-court press and their carelessness with protecting the ball have been largely the culprits responsible for their opponents running amok on the scoreboard. The Rockets could try and become a half-court defensive team, preferably with more of a zone defense emphasis as few on the Rockets short of Howard, Asik and Beverley have demonstrated superior defensive skills. With a bit more focus on such defensive trap strategies, while it could slow Houston's offense down a little, the results could take points away from their opponents on the scoreboard.
In the end, the result all leads to the only statistic that matters: another mark in the "W" column for Houston. But it all comes down to whether Houston is willing to evolve and mature into the kind of team willing to sacrifice a bit of the glory for the sake of the win. The Rockets can still be high-flying and electric on offense while showing a commitment to defense necessary to get to June. But they will have to dedicate that time and be willing to sacrifice part of the playing style they have grown accustomed to. If they don't, then it will be a long time before another NBA championship banner hangs from the rafters of the Toyota Center.