Charles Barkley is both right and wrong about the Houston Rockets

It would be a stretch to call Charles Barkley a Houston Rockets legend.

When the team acquired him in 1997, it was a last-ditch effort to return to championship relevance. Unfortunately, Barkley's decline coincided precisely with his tenure in Houston. He had one star-caliber year with them before spending three long seasons marching towards retirement.

When he speaks on the Rockets, fans have their eyes halfway rolled before he finishes his sentence. Recently, he made a claim that grabbed their attention. According to Chuck, the Rockets "don't have any idea how to play basketball".

He might have a point.

Rockets play a simple brand of basketball

Obviously, Barkley is being hyperbolic. If the Rockets didn't know how to play basketball, they wouldn't be the second seed in a grueling Western Conference.

That's television, folks. Barkley exaggerates, but he's hinting at something legitimate. The Rockets are playing a style of basketball that is rudimentary.

As of now, they're 29th in the NBA in passes made per game at 264.8. The only team that passes the rock less frequently are the Mavericks. Yet, Dallas are close to the middle of the pack in assists per game, where the Rockets are 28th at 22.5.

The Mavericks average fewer assists because so much of their playmaking responsibility is given to one player (Luka Doncic). The Rockets don't have that excuse. They don't get many assists because they don't pass the ball very often, and the players who do pass the ball don't have Doncic's floor vision.

Do they have an idea what they're doing?

Rockets play an effective brand, too

Basketball is played on two sides of the floor.

(Not that we'd expect Barkley to know anything about that).

The Rockets have the second-best Defensive Rating in the NBA at 105.1. They certainly know what they're doing on that end of the floor. The Rockets routinely trap, hedge, and recover on defense. They gamble in passing lanes an appropriate amount. Ime Udoka has built a well-oiled machine on defense.

The Rockets also have the league's best Offensive Rebound % at 34.5%. Their ability to pound the offensive glass and still defend at an elite level is impressive. In theory, an emphasis on offensive rebounding makes it harder to defend in transition.

That offensive rebounding has been key to their success. With such an otherwise ineffective offense, generating extra possessions is keeping the Rockets afloat. So yes, Charles, the Rockets have some idea what they're doing.

Still, the Rockets could stand more sophistication in their offensive attack. Perhaps a reliable lead guard would help. Otherwise, Udoka needs to add some wrinkles to his attack to make the Rockets more dynamic.

Otherwise, they could look like the 1998-99 Rockets before long.