There are really many teams in the NBA that have soared this season, such as the Thunder and Timberwolves in the West, both of which have risen from the fringe teams of the playoffs to the first echelon of the West. The Timberwolves currently sit first in the West at 17-5, while the Thunder are second in the West at 15-7. The Timberwolves' twin-tower lineup has played a miraculous role in the new season, Gobert and Towns' cooperation is getting better, Downs is also touched by the team's overall strong defense, and he has actually become a defensive giant. The Thunder are also well-balanced offensively and defensively, ranking 6th in the league in offensive efficiency and 5th in defensive efficiency, and their biggest advantage is their shooting percentage, ranking first in the league in 39.1% three-point shooting percentage, and the most accurate team on the outside of the NBA this season.
On the eastern side, there are also two super dark horse teams, the Pacers and the Magic. The Magic are a real super dark horse for everyone, they don't have an absolute star in charge, every young player is very energetic, can launch their own offense, they are also a defense-oriented team, 108.7 defensive efficiency ranks third in the league. The Pacers, on the other hand, are characterized by a very fast pace of offense, hoping to break through on the offensive end and put pressure on their opponents. So far in the regular season, the Pacers have averaged 128.4 points per game, ranking first in the league by fault, 5.1 points higher than the second-ranked Bucks. In addition, the Pacers average 30.3 assists per game and 50.7% shooting per game, both ranking first in the league and deserving to be the league's No. 1 offensive team.
Of course, whether it is the Timberwolves and Thunder in the West, or the Pacers and Magic in the East, they showed signs of being a dark horse last season, and they have long had a tendency to rise. The Pacers and Magic had a regular season win rate of more than 4 percent last season, the Thunder was close to 5 percent, and the Timberwolves were more than 5 percent. But this season, there is still such a team, which was still a pure fish belly last season, with a win rate of less than 30%, ranking at the bottom of the West, and now it is also super rising, not only to impact the playoffs, but also to compete for the championship, that is the Houston Rockets. The Rockets finished the regular season last season with a 22-60 record and a 26.8 percent winning rate, and in fact they have been on the roster for three consecutive years. Since Harden's departure, the Rockets have officially entered a rebuilding period, and they have been adjusting the roster and doing a mediocre job of developing young players.
At that time, the Rockets team had too many talented and potential players, mainly Porter Jr., all of whom wanted to show themselves on the court, and head coach Silas also let it go, regardless of the team's team culture, and the Rockets were one of the least efficient teams in singles last season, and the average assists per game also ranked last in the league. But now, the Rockets have ushered in a more organized and systematic coach Udoka, and at the same time sent away Porter Jr., a "thorn" player, their roster structure is more reasonable, Udoka coaches this kind of young team, seems to be very experienced, his timeout is very timely, and the on-court organization is stronger than Silas. Udoka will not let the players relax for a second in the game, even if it is garbage time, he will let the players go all out, and he will not favor any player, even if it is a core scoring point like Green and Shen Jing, the poor state at the critical moment is still DNP.
So far this season, the Rockets have a record of 12 wins and 9 losses, and the winning rate is close to 6 percent, ranking 7th in the West. 11 consecutive wins! No. 1 in the league! From the bottom of the West to the championship, the NBA super dark horse was born. In fact, the rise of the Rockets is also inseparable from the addition of Van Vleet and Dillon, two new recruits, the offseason Rockets signed these two players, both paid a great price, gave them super high salaries, Van Vleet gave 3 years 130 million US dollars, Dillon also gave 4 years 80 million, at that time, these two signings for the Rockets, how is it not worth it, because they are not star-level players.
But now it seems that perhaps we underestimated VanVleet and Dillon, which will improve the overall strength of the Rockets. VanVleet is the only player on the Rockets who can organize and control the court at key moments, ensuring that the Rockets are in danger, and he is also good defensively, with a solid three-point shooting. And Dillon's tough personal attributes and strong defense helped the team establish a tough culture, and the Rockets selected them to lead the newcomers, which has played a very good role. In the new season, the Rockets have several young players who have made great progress, such as center Shen Jing, who averaged 14.8 points, 9.0 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game last season and 20.0 points, 9.1 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game this season. And then there's Ethan, whose net efficiency (points per 100 possessions) has reached an incredible 17.2 when Eason is on the floor this season, and a defensive efficiency of 94.5 this season, the best among any player who has averaged 15+ minutes per game this season. Maybe this season the Rockets are aiming for more than just the playoffs, they really want to make a bigger breakthrough?