Most obvious Rockets adjustment wasn’t on the Lakers bingo card

After a historic Game 3 collapse and external turmoil, the Rockets responded in an emphatic way in Game 4 by returning to their trademark hounding defense and forcing turnovers. Surprisingly, the Lakers struggled mightily against the Rockets despite their playoff experience, even LeBron James. James finished the game with 8 turnovers and was completely shut out by the Rockets’ athletic defenders.

The Rockets went back to their biggest strength 

Although the Rockets seemed to have lost hope in the series after going down 3-0, their performance in Game 4 reasserted what they learned in Game 3. Houston can take control back by playing intense defense and forcing turnovers. In Game 3, they forced 20 total and LeBron had himself. In Game 4, the Rockets ratcheted up their defensive intensity even more to force 23 total turnovers, once again getting 8 out of LeBron.

These defensive plays are so important because they stop the Lakers while also giving the Rockets easier scoring opportunities. Houston is a young, athletic team that’s at its best in transition. By forcing more turnovers and misses, they can take pressure off their young stars and find a better offensive flow.

Even without their superstar scorer in Kevin Durant, the Rockets can find success with a dominant defense. In reality, that’s been the backbone of their winning structure for the last two seasons. The Rockets’ entire roster is built around locking down opponents and covering up the defensive flaws of any weak links.

Houston still has a chance in this series

The Rockets are still down 3-1 in the series and history tells us it’s unlikely they’ll make a full comeback. But they’ve also now outplayed the Lakers for nearly two whole games at home. If not for an all-time collapse at the end of Game 3, this series would be tied up 2-2 and the Rockets would have all the momentum.

Unfortunately, the Rockets don’t have any more margin for error in the series. They will need to bring full defensive intensity from here on out to have any shot of advancing. But at least they have seen the boons of their defense for two straight games.

The most encouraging thing about Games 3 and 4 for the Rockets was that they found success with their typical foundation. Sure they hit threes more accurately than usual in Game 4, but it was really their defense that made the difference. If the Rockets can just remain consistent in their core identity, they have a chance to do the impossible and turn this series all the way around.

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