The Houston Rockets should be America's team

The Houston Rockets have a complicated recent history with three-point shooting.

It wasn't long ago that they were at the vanguard of the three-point revolution. James Harden, Mike D'Antoni, and Daryl Morey were the Big 3 of 3s.

The Rockets put up an unprecedented volume of threes. Other teams followed suit. The Warriors won several NBA championships by leaning on the three-ball.

Unfortunately, the Rockets didn't quite get there.

It's not hard to draw a causal line from that moment in history to today. Teams like the Celtics are continuing to push the envelope in terms of three-point volume. There's a growing concern about homogeneity in the styles of play around the league. Everyone's jacking up threes, and whoever puts more of them in the basket wins the game.

Meanwhile, the Rockets missed out on the big prize. James Harden forced his departure to Brooklyn, and the Rockets rebuilt. The rebuilding is done, and the team is competitive again:

As one of the worst shooting teams in the NBA.

Rockets forge defensive identity

If you want to get to know the Rockets, go back and watch their NBA Cup Quarterfinals matchup with the Warriors.

The score was 91-90. Somewhere, the 2004 Detroit Pistons are blushing. In 2024-25, NBA teams aren't supposed to be able to grind out low-scoring victories against playoff-caliber squads. Yet, that's something we've seen the Rockets do several times this year.

Sure, they're keeping pace with modern three-point volume. The Rockets shoot 36.3 threes per game, which puts them 18th in the league. They aren't one of the most three-point dependent teams in the league, but they're not near the bottom - in terms of volume, anyway.

Accuracy is a different story. At 32.2%, they're 28th in the league in three-point percentage. This is a glaring problem for the Rockets:

But for a lot of NBA fans, it should count in their favor.

Rockets are bucking the trends you hate

There is so much handwringing about three-point volume in modern NBA discourse. The notion that every team plays the same way is prevalent.

Then there's the Rockets. They've been charged with "not knowing how" to play basketball. What does that say about their competition when they sit third in the Western Conference at 17-9? If you need evidence that a team can succeed in 2024 without relying on the three-ball, look no further than Space City. There's an alternate path to success, and the Rockets are forging it.

This team plays with blood and sweat - no tears. Ime Udoka will bench you for crying. Sweating is mandatory, and bleeding is encouraged.

Sure, it's not beautiful, motion-heavy basketball. Still, something is inspiring about watching this young team grind. They feed off of each other. The coaching staff or players do not accept anything less than maximum effort. By contrast, bricking a wide-open three is par for the course.

Don't like the modern NBA? Do you think there are too many threes? Nobody plays defense anymore? Everybody plays the same style?

Not the Rockets. This isn't your shiek, 2024 three-point machine. The Rockets are a blue-collar outfit. They bring their lunch pales to the game and get to work. They worked their way out of the gutter and are continuing to scratch and claw their way to the top of the NBA standings, and it's working:

Isn't that the American dream?