Throughout the 2024 — 2025 [Houston Rockets](https://www.thedreamshake.com) season, one thing that has impressed me as a fan is their defense. Now it is not shocking that a team coached by Ime Udoka plays hard on the defensive end, as it feels that defensive intensity is a must from his players. However, what has surprised me is the level of improvement shooting guard Jalen Green and center Alperen Sengun have made on the defensive end. Before Ime Udoka arrived, both players were seen as defensive liabilities and now both are positive NBA-level defenders. With all the praise I'm giving the Rockets, one might think surely they are one of the best defensive teams in the NBA. Well unfortunately that top-10 defense is long gone.
TOP TEN DEFENSE WHERE ART THOU??
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At first, it appeared the reason for the defensive slippage was the absence of power forward Jabari Smith Jr., who injured his left hand on January 3 and missed 22 games. In this span, the Rockets’ defensive rating was 116.3, which is No. 19 in the NBA during that period. That is a significant drop from where they were in the first 34 games of the season. Before Jan. 1, the Rockets had a 106 defensive rating, which ranked them second in the NBA.
However, it originally appeared that Jabari’s absence was not the issue because, in that time frame, Houston started the second-year guard Amen Thompson. Amen is arguably the best defender on this team, so naturally, the defense appeared to be fine. However, after starting so many games after being used to coming off the bench, Amen’s defensive effort began to slip. Many Rocket’s fans chalked this up to exhaustion and assumed after the All-Star Break and Jabari’s return things would improve.
This appeared to hold, because in the first seven games since their six-game losing streak, the Rockets held opponents to 106.4 points per game and 42 percent shooting. The Rockets were 5-2 in that time frame, including a hard-fought 100-97 win over the [Milwaukee Bucks](https://www.brewhoop.com). They held the Bucks to 40 percent shooting, which was their second-worst shooting performance of the season.
However, even with Jabari Smith back in the lineup the Rockets defense is not as potent as it once was. Houston has now lost three straight, giving up 121 points per game over the losing streak. During the month of February, Houston’s defensive rating was 111.8 (tied with six other teams for 16th), and so far in March, they have a defensive rating of 121.3 (tied with nine other teams for 22nd).
My thought as to why the defense has regressed is the absence of Jabari Smith Jr. in the starting lineup. During Smith’s 22-game absence, Amen Thompson started 20 of those 22 games. Thompson was successful as a starter in Smith’s absence, and it was a discussion as to what would happen once Smith returned. So far, since Jabari’s return, he has been coming off the bench. Now the starting lineup for Houston, which employs Fred Vanvleet, Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, Amen Thompson, and Alperen Sengun is a -8.4, which is the worst lineup of any lineup that has played at least 50 minutes.
Additionally, when both Thompson and Sengun are on the floor together, there is nobody to cover the big, as Sengun is not the best at guarding centers and Amen is usually guarding the opposing team's best perimeter player. Essentially, when Smith is on the floor with Sengun, Houston can put Smith on the big man, allowing Sengun to get easy rebounds, which is unable to be done with Amen on the floor in place of Smith.
The solution to this is simple. Many fans will not agree with it, but I am suggesting that Ime Udoka goes back to bringing Amen Thompson off the bench in favor of starting Jabari. This would allow Amen to go back to a bench rule meaning he would be more energized when he is on the court, and alongside Tari Eason, the Terror Twins could once more be unleashed.
What do you all think is the reason for the defensive slippage? Do you think Udoka should adjust the starting lineup? Why or why not?