Original title: Alliance first! The Rockets are 19-4 after All-Star, and in addition to thanking Harden, thank him
At the beginning of the season, the Rockets (10-14) were still "good brothers" who had to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Suns, but they began to change drastically around the All-Star, especially after the All-Star, the Rockets' record has reached 19-4, and with the last 2 games left this season, it is very promising to reach the 20-win record after the All-Star, how did they do it?
First point: Harden is indispensable
Remember Harden's 32-game 30+ scoring in 32 consecutive games? It was the performance during this period that allowed the Rockets to gradually stabilize, they no longer panicked, and it was Harden who was himself, no longer cared about the eyes of the outside world, and began to be his true self, allowing the Rockets to crawl out of the mud.
The second point: Morey's god-level "leakage"
Without Morey's mid-term signing one after another, without the addition of Rivers Jr., Farid, House, Shumpert and other players, the Rockets must be a different scene now, even if Harden is still so super-godly, even more than the current performance, the Rockets' road ahead is still a fog, but because Morey's one-stroke leakage, the overall strength of the Rockets is obvious, so the Rockets' counterattack today is indispensable to Morey's credit.
The third point: defense
Defenders win the world, this sentence applies at all times, especially in a long schedule, one or two games can be won with offense, but to win more you must have defense, according to statistics, compared to the All-Star Game, the Rockets' defense has changed drastically, and the defensive efficiency value has risen from 25th in the league to second in the league after the All-Star Game. It was this phenomenal performance that allowed them to go all the way and start to make an impact on the playoffs, and today's bloodless victory over the Knicks seemed to let us see last year's Rockets.
To sum up, these are three points I see, do you have anything else to add? Welcome to leave a message and communicate together.