The Rockets, who have won 8 consecutive victories and chased the Warriors, have no bottom line and have been rotten for 3 years, why are they getting stronger and stronger?

Since Harden's departure in the 2020-21 season, the Rockets, who have entered the playoffs for 7 consecutive years to create a team history record, have decisively started a bottomless swing journey, and it was not until the end of last season that the Rockets ended the first phase of the three-year swing rebuild, and then not only introduced veterans such as Dillon, VanVleet and Green at a premium, but also signed new coach Udoka regardless of previous suspicions, so that he can control the next stage of the team's rebuilding steering wheel.

Udoka also lived up to expectations, and under his leadership, the Rockets, who combined old and new, once became one of the dark horses in the West at the beginning of the season.

Helplessly, the Rockets, who had no bottom line in a row, had to pay for their previous behavior in the middle of the season, and when facing a number of poor traffic teams one after another, the Rockets encountered difficult blowing difficulties one after another, and the upward momentum and game rhythm were completely disrupted.

Coupled with the ups and downs in the form of core players and injuries to many important rotations, the Rockets quickly fell out of the top 10 in the West, and were stretched out by the Warriors and Lakers in front of them by more than 5 wins.

Fortunately, Udoka's reused interior core Shin Kyung exploded after the All-Star breakout, and under his leadership, the Rockets bucked the trend and kept chasing the Warriors and Lakers in front of him.

As a result, in the sprint stage of the regular season, Shen Jing suffered another major injury and is expected to miss the rest of the regular season games.

And before his injury, Ethan, who handed over the No. 1 defensive efficiency this season, was reimbursed for the season. While his injury was confirmed, the bench blade "White Devil" Whitmore confirmed that he would miss three weeks with a ligament strain, and the Rockets fell out of the slump again.

In the face of such an unfavorable situation, the Texas Xiaoqiang brought a surprise to the fans, after beating the Jazz by 28 points at home, the Rockets won eight consecutive victories, and in the past 11 games, won the best record of the same period with 10 wins and 1 loss, narrowing the gap behind the Warriors to 1.5 wins in one go.

So why did the Rockets, who only ended their 3-year bottomless swing at the beginning of this season, get stronger and stronger?

Reason 1: Team culture

Building a team culture is a top priority for any team, and the style of the manager and manager is often the key to determining a team's team culture.

Udoka has always been a coach known for his toughness, and after he joined the Rockets, he signed Van Vleet, Dillon and Green at a premium.

This made the Rockets completely get rid of the fish belly positioning brought about by the three-year bottomless swing in the first 20 games of the season, and became a hard bone that all teams in the league are not willing to encounter.

In terms of employing people, Udoka is an iron-fisted ruler, whether it is a big-name core or a role player, Udoka almost treats everyone equally.

Judging from the strength of this season's squad adjustment and public voice, Udoka has fully implemented the employment concept of "the capable go up, and the mediocre go down".

It gives all players a clear upward path, further enhances the team's cohesion and hard work, and lays the groundwork for the outburst of role players in difficult times.

Reason 2: The league blows the penalty suddenly changed

As fans grew tired of the explosion of data, the NBA suddenly reversed course in the middle of the season, making a rare mid-season adjustment to the penalty scale to encourage defenders to curb the frenzied offensive momentum.

The Knicks and Rockets, which are defensive teams, are undoubtedly the biggest beneficiaries, and the Rockets' defensive efficiency once ranked first in the league this season, even after various injuries, they are still ranked 7th.

The relaxation of the blowing penalty scale allows the Rockets to have a high enough floor by virtue of defense.

Reason three: the explosion of young players

After Shin Kyung's injury, Jalen Green, Amen Thompson and Jabari Smith Jr., who were given bigger roles and more opportunities, broke out one after another.

Among them, Jalen Green shot 15 of 22 from the field against the Jazz, 7 of 11 from three-point range, and scored 41 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 steal.

During the Rockets' 11-game 10-win period, Jalen Green averaged 27.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 0.9 steals per game, shooting 3.9 three-pointers per game, shooting 51.4%, 41.7% and 79.6% respectively, with a plus/minus of +155.

Jalen Green's outburst allowed the Rockets to finally have a ball-handling scorer who could dominate the game at critical moments, greatly improving the team's ability to finish games.

Amen has been playing better and better since entering the starting line-up, and has already shown the potential of a top defender.

In the game against the Jazz, he grabbed 10 rebounds, including 7 in the frontcourt, which makes people look forward to the effect of him when he appears on the wing at the same time as Ethan.

The outbreak of a group of young players has solved the problem of the Rockets' lack of ceiling.

Reason 4: New signings play steadily

The offseason premium signings of VanVleet, Dillon, Green and Landale made the Rockets laughing, but as the season progressed, the four proved themselves.

The four-man defense is always on the line, which is key to the Rockets' ability to play the 7th defensive efficiency in the league, with VanVleet successfully playing the role of the team's brain, averaging the league's 7th 8.2 assists per game.

At the same time, he shot 39% from three-point range this season, and in the game against the Jazz, he shot 10 of 15 three-pointers, tying the Rockets' all-time record for three-point shooting in a single game, and led the Rockets to hit 27 three-pointers in a game, setting a new league record for the most three-pointers in a single game this season (previously 25).