No Deals Made: Houston Could Benefit from Not Making Trades

Why make deals if they are winning with the current roster, right?

Trades are being made by teams for two reasons: to help improve their situation by getting rid of some players in exchange for hopefully, better ones, and to, prepare for the future by trading players for draft picks plus getting rid of players who have hefty contracts that are about to expire. Sometimes, these trades work for the team and sometimes, they don't. But in some instances, there is no need for trades especially if your team is doing well and winning with whoever they have in your roster.

The latter third seems to be the case for the surging Houston Rockets as they didn't bother to get themselves involved in any deals heading into the 2018 trade deadline and they appear to be doing just fine after the deadline has already passed which was primarily highlighted by the blockbuster deal that sent 6 players from the Cleveland Cavaliers to 3 different teams in exchange for 4 players.

After beating the Dallas Mavericks on a 104-97 victory, the Rockets are now on an 8-game winning streak. At 42-13, the Rockets are only half a game behind the Golden State Warriors for the league's best record and part of that success is their front office's decision to keep their roster intact through ups and downs which enabled the team to build in trust which in turn, helped them play better every single game.  And mind you, the Rockets have beaten the Cavs, the Warriors and other elite teams in the NBA, multiple times this season already so it means that they have a carefully-assembled team with James Harden and Chris Paul leading them.

On top of Harden who is the leading scorer of the NBA with a 31-point per game average this season, and Chris Paul who is averaging 19 points per game in 37 games that he has played so far, the Rockets have 4 more guys who are averaging in double figures this season led by Eric Gordon with 18 points per game, Clint Capela with 14 points and 11 rebounds per game, Gerald Green with 13 points per game and Trevor Ariza with 12 points per game. That's 6 guys in total, folks and not all teams can have that number of players who are averaging in double figures.

Conclusion

Don't get too surprised if, by the end of the regular season, it's the Rockets and not the Warriors who will enter the playoffs as the top team in the Western Conference. The Rockets have the leading MVP candidate in James Haden who is partnered at the backcourt by Chris Paul who plays like a god when playing the point guard position. But most importantly, they got guys who trust each other no matter what. And these guys can explode at any given opportunity so watch out, NBA. This might be the season when the Rockets are finally lifting off.