What's happened to the Houston Rockets?

Recently, the Houston Rockets once again lost. They fell victim on the road against San Antonio. Sure, you can't blame them. The Spurs still haven't lost at home. The problem is that this is a reoccurring thing. Houston is now 16-19 this season, and they might not even make the playoffs. Before the season, I thought they'd cash in as the 2 seed or the 2nd consecutive year, but so far, they've been very mediocre. This is no longer a cold streak, or a couple of flukes. We need to find out what's happening to the Houston Rockets. Luckily for you, I've found a couple key points explaining this sudden drop in success.

Let's start off at the point guard position, currently occupied by Ty Lawson. When the Rockets acquired Lawson, I personally saw it as a decent fit. I thought they'd do better off with a point guard that can pass a little more, which leads me into this problem. Ty doesn't share the rock as much as he needs to. When you have James Harden and Dwight Howard down low, you need a point guard who can control the tempo of the game and effectively get the ball to those players. Ty just isn't that player. And I'm not even saying he's not good. I like his game, and I think, with a better fitted team, Ty is a pretty good player. I do think he could've been an all star had he worked a little harder. The only problem is he is a scorer, which doesn't fit in with Houston's game plan, and because of that, he's really struggled.

I didn't put this picture on here to show James Harden. I have this picture to represent there defense. It's horrific. This team never plays that side of the ball, period. In my mind, defense still wins championships. It doesn't get the fans excited, but it's what wins games,and the Rockets have zip defense. Just last night against the Spurs, who're one of the best defensive teams in the league, you can see a true difference. The Spurs look so much more elite, and the Rockets don't have that same heart or desire defensively to get the job done on that side of the court.

Next issue, Dwight Howard. Let's be honest. Dwight is an excellent player, but a very overrated player for sure. Ever since leaving the Magic he just hasn't looked the same, even with Houston. And then, shockingly enough, he's unhappy in Houston. the Rockets have put him on the trade block, and they've had some pretty good offers, which I'll get to in a minute. But if Dwight Howard keeps going this route, it's going to be very ugly for the Rockets. Honestly, if I'm Houston, I grant his wish. I deal him for a potential star, and then build around Harden. This way, they won't have to necessarily "rebuild" from the ground up. They can then just add a couple of pieces and be back in contention by next year. The deal I would go with would be Dwight Howard to the Heat for Hassan Whiteside and Justice Winslow. The Heat want Howard so they can have a dominating post game and still have outside shooting in Dwayne Wade and Luol Deng. For the Rockets, they then get Hassan Whiteside, who I think is one of the best rebounders today, and Justice Winslow. Then you have a team Ty Lawson will fit in with better, have a better outside game, have more of a future, and finally, retain the rebounding. Plus, Hassan gives the Rockets great defense down low, which they desperately. Regardless, they need to find an answer, because firing their coach clearly wasn't the move they needed.