Houston Rockets expected to be better defensive team

The Houston Rockets came into the offseason with grand intentions, hoping they’d be able to snag at least Carmelo Anthony and potentially another All-Star alongside of him.

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That of course didn’t work out and not only did the Rockets whiff on signing Anthony, they also missed out on Chris Bosh and lost both Chandler Parsons and Jeremy Lin in the process. It was a massive roll of the dice by general manager Daryl Morey and things didn’t go to plan.

That said, the Houston Rockets may have improved one area of their roster and that’s the defense.

Sure, the team also moved on from Omer Asik but no longer will they be forced to watch Jeremy Lin get consonantly beat off the dribble or Chandler Parsons be a step late in-front of his man. Given that, the addition by subtraction should help the Rockets unleash a more formidable defense as Alex Kennedy notes.

"I do think Ariza will be good to have next to Harden, since he’s a better defender than Parsons and can help make up for some of Harden’s lapses on that end of the floor. With Patrick Beverley, Howard and Ariza, Houston’s defense should be better than last year."

Of course, the loss of the previously mentioned players will hurt the Houston Rockets depth and Morey will need to offset the balance in the coming season. Still, championships begin with defense and the Rockets have a very solid core of defenders.

They also have James Harden who would struggle to front a stiff wind, but Dwight Howard should be able to cover his inefficiencies.