4 Things the Houston Rockets are doing better than anyone in the West

Getting to the Line (1st in FTs made and attempted per game)

One such backup plan for getting the offense going when shots aren’t falling is getting to the charity stripe. The backcourt of Harden and Westbrook is historically adept at getting to the line with their aggressive and crafty play.

The Beard is currently leading the league in free throws attempted per game at 12.4 while Russ is getting to the line 6.4 times. Getting 18.8 attempts at the line from one backcourt is crazy considering there are three teams averaging 20 or less as a team.

In total, the Rockets are making 20.9 free throws per game out of their 26.8 attempts for 78 percent. The fact that Harden is shooting 86.1 percent bodes well for the Rockets since he carries the load when it comes to getting fouled and making teams pay.

Russell’s 79 percent isn’t too shabby either and is about what the team should expect, as he’s an 80 percent shooter from the line for his career.

Provided the Rockets get the calls they should be getting as the season progresses, the free-throw line could be the biggest difference between a playoff exit and reaching the Promiseland.

The Rockets offensive attack has been so potent that even just fairly-good-to-good defense should take them far. If they’re able to continue to get big stops and fine-tune their defense more, there’s no reason this team shouldn’t be the last one standing in June.