The covered weakness, how do the Rockets fix the new season?

Looking back at the Houston Rockets' 2024-25 season, the team showed two appearances on the offensive end. Although they swept their opponents on offensive rebounds, it was difficult to maintain the connection between the half-time offense. With Adams in the penalty area, the Rockets once became the strongest offensive rebounding team in the league.

But apart from that, the Rockets are basically in a state of lagging behind in other offensive data. As Adams is about to become a free agent, the Rockets' team characteristics may change significantly, and may develop in a very bad direction. Next year, this Rockets may have a new look in many aspects.

The Rockets' offensive rebounding efficiency ranks first in the league this season, and is even far ahead. The proportion of missing shots in the trap was as high as 36.3%, and the second-ranked Trail Blazers was 33.2%. Such a second offensive advantage started with Adams, and his efficiency in grabbing offensive rebounds was almost unmatched in the playoffs. And he is not fighting alone. Shin Kyung and Amen Thompson also invested in the battle for the frontcourt rebounds with amazing energy.

From another perspective, the Rockets can grab nearly 15 offensive rebounds per game on average, and they have a great chance to convert missed shots into offensive opportunities, and often rely on offensive rebounds to extend their lives for the second time when the offense is stagnant or tactical execution fails. Although such efforts prevent the Rockets' offense from collapsing, they also cover up the deeper problems of the team:

rely solely on secondary scoring to support the court, the Rockets' offense lacks truly efficient scoring methods. Once the rebound advantage is no longer, these offensive weaknesses will be infinitely amplified.

As the key engine of the Rockets' rebounding system, Adams only plays 13.7 minutes per game, but he can capture 7.5 offensive rebounds every 36 minutes. The strong body and excellent rebounding opportunities can not only create space for teammates, but also inject a positive outlook into the team and the veteran value that this young team lacks the most.

Around this point, the Rockets can extend the offensive rounds, giving young ball holders more room for mobile phones and adjustments. His value of cover also freed Jaylen Green, but most importantly, he allowed the Rockets to find a timeout to breathe in the missteps and chaos.

Now, with Adams approaching free agent, the Rockets are standing at a critical crossroads. If he chooses to leave the team, the Rockets will soon lose their biggest inside advantage. The team does not have the second big man to replicate his inside value, which will also bring about many chain effects, such as the number of rebounds, the chances of scoring in the second wave, the pressure on offensive in the half-court are all possible sequelae.

Of course, referring to the above mentioned, although the Rockets have obvious advantages in rebounding, they are in a state of lagging behind in several key offensive data. Referring to the four major offensive indicators of the NBA: effective hit rate, turnover rate, offensive rebound rate, and free throw rate, the Rockets are all at a weak point except offensive rebound:

in terms of effective hit rate, the Rockets are only 52.3%, which is in the second half of the league. It is difficult for them to create easy scoring opportunities, and their offenses rely too much on singles and high-difficulty shooting; in terms of error rate, the Rockets are 14%, failing to enter the top ten in the league. Young guards are very prone to make mistakes under high pressure, and the overall ball mobility is also quite poor; in terms of free throw rate, the Rockets can only get 0.2 free throws per shot, ranking 16th in the league. They cannot punish defenders with strong physical confrontation, which is quite a loss compared to other young teams in the league.

The Rockets' effective shooting percentage of 52.3% directly points out their core problem: low shooting efficiency. Although Jaylen Green occasionally has excellent works, he cannot break through the half-court defense line steadily. The Rockets' main ball holders are unable to create a dominant offensive choice steadily, which often leads the team to a situation of offensive stagnation, and are forced to force attack when the offensive time is about to run out.

In addition, the problem of mistakes has also caused the team to lose a lot of scoring opportunities. Although young players have speed and explosive power, they lack skills and delicateness, resulting in repeated mistakes on both ends of offense and defense, resulting in the original rebounding advantage not being able to maximize its value.

A little more, it is the lack of ability to commit fouls.

The Rockets ranked mid-level in free throw efficiency this season, which directly means that when the team's tactics collapse, they cannot create simple free throw scores by rushing to the penalty area. When they lack a stable foul threat, their opponents can rest assured to squat in the penalty area and force the Rockets to rely on the outside line they are not good at to solve the problem.

If Adams really leaves this team, it means that the Rockets' greatest advantage is lost, and the team's dominance in offensive rebounds may collapse instantly, and their shortcomings in the offensive at halftime will be exposed. If the Rockets lose the extra offensive round, they will inevitably suffer on the defensive end, reducing the second score and the opponent will get more opportunities for counterattack. Although the Rockets ranked at the top of the league in defense this season, once the defensive burden becomes heavier, it is not ruled out that they will find it difficult to maintain their current level.

For the Rockets, who have excellent regular season record this season but have slightly unsatisfactory performance in the playoffs, if they want to move to a higher level, the Rockets must face up to their offensive efficiency issues. They must learn to cherish every offensive ball, improve offensive issues, choose a more reasonable shot opportunity, and actively create foul opportunities and seize free throw opportunities.

Otherwise, even if they can continue to maintain their historical offensive rebounding advantage, it will be difficult for the Rockets to go further in the future.