Rockets silence their biggest critics in encouraging win vs Grizzlies

As the Houston Rockets came away with their fifth straight victory, defeating the Memphis Grizzlies 124-109, the sizable lead that the Rockets held for essentially the entire duration of the game made for, frankly, one of their least entertaining contests so far this season.

Nonetheless, they came away with another important win, and, in the team's ability to score prolifically even with Kevin Durant having a poor shooting night, they were able to prove their biggest critics wrong for now.

When the team made the move for Durant, everyone knew that he would revolutionize their offense. Yet, some worried that, with their young core still intact, Houston could become over-dependent on Durant to take control of their scoring, leaving them unequipped to compete if Durant did not perform on any given night.

Although some of their flaws were on display against the Grizzlies, it is safe to say that they have shook off many of these concerns with their relatively dominant victory.

Amen Thompson, Alperen Sengun steal the show as Durant goes cold from the field

So far this season, Durant has been excellent for the Rockets, averaging 26.2 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists while shooting a highly effective 51% from the floor.

Yet, against Memphis, Durant just never seemed to find his footing, posting only 11 points and going an abysmal 5-of-18 from the floor. Last year's Rockets team, even if they had Durant on the roster, might have folded under the pressure of having their star scorer essentially be erased from the stat sheet.

This team, however, is clearly built differently.

Amen Thompson, for the second game in a row, led the team in scoring, posting 28 points, ten rebounds and seven assists and sinking 13 of his 26 field goal attempts. If he can continue to acclimate well to the new offensive demands he has been faced with, he could be taking another major leap right in front of our eyes.

Alperen Sengun, meanwhile, had another excellent game as well, posting 20 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists while getting to the free-throw line a team-leading 10 times throughout the course of the night.

Admittedly, this Grizzlies team is a bit of a mess currently, and a win should likely have been the result that Houston expected. Nevertheless, the team's ability to rally around their young, emerging players gives them a serious reason to hope that they can continue to live up to their potential as the season wears on.