Rockets still have one glaring weakness that could come to define their season

Although the Houston Rockets defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers, 114-104, on Wednesday night, it certainly wasn't entirely pretty, as the Cavaliers erased a 17-point deficit at halftime to bring the Rockets right back down into the muck before the end of the game.

In doing so, Cleveland revealed the one glaring weakness that the Rockets still need to address this season as they attempt to enter the hemisphere of elite Western Conference teams. When opposing defenses are able to swarm Alperen Sengun and Kevin Durant in isolation, what is their answer?

To be certain, Houston has proven to have one of the most potent and overwhelming offenses in the NBA so far this season. Yet, when the playoffs come, opposing teams will be more prepared than ever to shut off their primary offensive outlets, and, in the meantime, they must develop other ways of getting buckets in order to maintain this level of performance.

Rockets need to work their peripheral scorers into the offensive action on a more consistent basis

It might seem crazy to issue any formal complaint about the Rockets' offense given how tremendous it has been this season. Through their first 13 games, they are first in the NBA in offensive rating, first in 3-point percentage, first in offensive rebounding percentage and second in points per game.

This is a team that, without a doubt, is shaping up to be championship contender. Yet, that is the exact reason why problems such as these need to be considered and ironed out throughout the course of the season.

The team runs much of its offense through isolation possessions for Kevin Durant and Alperen Sengun, and, most of the time, this is not a bad option. Both of these players are among the most dominant in the league when they are able to get to their spots.

Yet, during the Cavaliers' comeback in the third quarter of their matchup, they were able to double and even triple-team Houston's stars, and, for that stretch of the game, the offense looked much like it did last season: little to no movement and flow with the ball.

The Rockets have excellent cutters and potent scorers in players like Amen Thompson, Jabari Smith Jr. and Reed Sheppard. As the season goes on, they must learn to involve these players more actively in their scripted and planned offense, even if only so that the isolation possessions of Durant and Sengun gain more potency.

The NBA is a league of highly adaptable coaches and players, and teams will figure out answers to whatever you can throw at them over the course of an 82-game season. What separates the best teams, however, is their ability to counter these adjustments, and Houston must continue to tweak their offensive attack in order to accomplish this.