Rockets in prime position to take advantage of NBA chaos

The Houston Rockets have built something special.

Yes, their season has exceeded expectations. Nobody had the Rockets with 52 wins at this point—or even at the end—of the season. But that's not all that's special about Houston.

The players seem to get along. There's a widespread toughness that's come to define this iteration of the Rockets. It feels like there's a cohesion between the players, head coach and general manager.

The same can't be said for teams around the league.

Rockets rivals falling apart

What on earth is in the air in Denver?

Not the low density resulting from the high altitude - although, that could be affecting people's brains. Something is going on, and it's so strange that any theory is as good as the next.

The Nuggets let Mike Malone go. By all appearances, he was among the best coaches in the NBA. He wasn't good enough for ownership.

Neither was General Manager Calvin Booth. He was also shown the door. With the playoffs right around the corner, it's not an ideal time to be in this kind of disarray.

Is this piece starting to feel familiar?

The Rockets are clicking at the right time

It's not common for a team to fire their coach (let alone their GM) with the playoffs this close. In most NBA seasons, that doesn't happen at all.

This year, it happened twice.

The Grizzlies just let Taylor Jenkins go. Do these teams know that playoffs are coming? Do they really have that much faith in an interim head coach? Even if they new skipper is a hidden gem, it's going to be difficult for them to implement their system on such short notice.

The Rockets don't have to worry about that. These players know precisely what Ime Udoka is looking for. They execute on a nightly basis. The Rockets look like a cohesive unit:

It's hard to overstate that advantage.

Some have argued that the Rockets are overperforming this year. Perhaps that's true. This team is stacked with young talent, but the Rockets don't have a bonafide superstar like Nikola Jokic - or even Ja Morant. These are two teams that plenty of fans would expect to overcome Houston in a playoff series.

Now, the Rockets should be favored over either. They're comfortably ahead of each in the standings, and the chaos that's befallen them should solidify Houston's favored odds. The Thunder and Lakers will be tough outs, but otherwise, the Rockets should be the odds-on favorites against any team in the West.

That's the advantage of being on the same page.