4 Key stats that define the Houston Rockets' 2023-24 season

4. Defensive Rating

We've been a bit critical in this piece. We're looking for places for the Rockets to improve. To bring this one home, we'll be more optimistic.

The Rockets' 112.8 Defensive Rating ranked 10th in the NBA last year. That's solid, but some contextual factors held the team back. They were without Tari Eason for most of the year, and Amen Thompson had to earn some trust throughout his rookie season.

Moreover, their 112.7 mark before the All-Star break ranked 6th. That's right - a 0.1 drop saw them sink four spots in the rankings. The margins here are narrow. Of the 9 teams ahead of the Rockets in this stat, only 5 were 1.0 ahead of them or more.

Next year, Eason will be back. Thompson will be a fixture in the rotation. It's not unreasonable to hope that the Houston Rockets can field a top-5 defense in 2024-25.

That would make for some pretty magical times.