The Houston Rockets were riding high after their 121-115 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night. It was the first game out of the All-Star break and more importantly gave them a season series tie with the Timberwolves.

The Rockets’ next game came the following night as they traveled to Utah to take on the Jazz. This was the third set of back-to-backs for the Rockets amid a weird quirk in the schedule.

After their game on Wednesday, the Rockets will play four sets of back-to-backs in a row. Since the start of February, the Rockets have slipped in the standings from the second seed to the fifth seed with the Los Angeles Lakers recently overtaking them for fourth.

The Rockets knew yet again they would not be fully healthy as they went into the game against the Jazz without Fred VanVleet, Jae’Sean Tate, Steven Adams, and Tari Eason. Also, Jabari Smith had just returned from a 22-game absence and played 30 minutes on Friday.

All that, along with a lack of effort on defense, led the Rockets to one of their worst losses of the season, 124-115. The Rockets are only 3-7 in the last 10 games and are struggling to create a winning streak.

Despite the recent losses, the Rockets’ sky isn’t falling for them. One reason for optimism is that they have dealt with multiple injuries that have derailed any on-court chemistry they had at the beginning of the season.

One of the hardest things a team can do is build chemistry on the defensive end. A lot of times, on offense, you can get away with playing one-on-one basketball and be successful. However, on defense, you have to be a cohesive unit to succeed.

The Rockets were a top-two defense for the first few months, but since January 1st, they have been middle of the pack in defense. One reason is that the schedule has gotten more difficult. The main reason, however, has been injuries to players like VanVleet and Smith.

Even though neither VanVleet nor Smith put up defensive statistics that stand out they are important pieces for the Rockets on defense. When you are constantly shuffling lineups it makes it difficult to have any type of cohesion on defense.

The Rockets hope to have their full lineup back when they host the Milwaukee Bucks for the first time. Having the entire roster available will help the Rockets build that chemistry back and have everyone in their correct roles, which will go a long way in the Rockets getting back to their defensive identity.

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