Chip on Shoulder

Is there ever a team in NBA history with a collection of so many players with a chip on their shoulders? I think not. 

Wall, Oladipo and Cousins are all coming back from major injuries and each has something to prove. Wall badly wants to prove he's still an all-star. Oladipo feels so many teams have given up on him. Cousins is playing on minimum salary and wants to prove he deserves to get paid. Then there's Christian Wood, who wants to prove he's an all-star. Eric Gordon wants to prove he can thrive without James Harden. And Silas wants to prove he's not only a first time head coach but a darn good one.

I'm so impressed by the trio of Wall, Oladipo and Wood (Kudos to whoever came up with the nickname of WOW). The fact that Houston has the best defense in the NBA since they traded James Harden is pretty funny, but not totally shocking given the Beard is at best half-hearted on that end of the floor. Defense is as much as about effort and hustle and determination. I just love watching Jae'sean Tate playing D. He's a force on both ends of the floor. EG, Oladipo, Wall also play hard on the defensive end. There is a real energy and communication and general happiness because nobody is slacking off and that's the biggest difference comparing with Harden-era Rockets. 

And it's not just about defense. Last game against OKC, Rockets rained down a franchise record of 28 3s, for a ridiculous 54.3% efficiency. John Wall is the most surprising to me hitting 3s at a high clip. Granted, he only played 12 games so far this season, but he's making 37.3% from behind the arc vs 32.6% career average. 

Another thing I really like about Silas vs D'Antoni is that Silas goes deep into rotation. Other than players already mentioned above, Tucker, David Nwaba, Sterling Brown are all seeing regular minutes. That's nine deep and every one is a three-point threat. 

Houston is currently enjoying a 6-game winning streak. Granted, the chip-on-shoulder thing may taper off a little bit given human nature. Still, everyone is buy in right now and a lot of credit has to go to Silas, who may be a COY candidate if Rockets keep this thing going.

GO ROCKETS GO!