The Rockets don’t appear to have the motivation — at the moment, anyway — because of their immense belief in the younger core.”

When the Houston Rockets take the court each night, they’re typically going to be one of the league’s best teams. They play hard on defense, they strive to move

For nearly a decade, Harden fueled the Houston Rockets' rise to relevance in the NBA, leading the team to eight consecutive postseason appearances and two Conference Finals appearances. There, he won the MVP award, was named to nine All-Star teams, and seven All-NBA teams.

During his time suiting up for the Rockets, Petruska wore only jersey No. 3 and put up 2.4 points and 1.4 rebounds per game.

Instead, a flurry of international and young talent has risen to prominence. The Houston Rockets carry a good chunk of that talent. Yes, they're a title contender with Kevin Durant at the helm. But the success can't solely be attributed to him.

Aside from the Rockets turning over the ball in unproductive* ways for much of the night, and being unable to assemble coherent offense for more than four minutes at a time, this was really a game of defensive strategy.

Kevin Durant and the Houston Rockets secured a 115-113 win over James Harden and the Los Angeles Clippers at Toyota Center on Thursday night.

During his time suiting up for the Rockets, Chievous wore only jersey No. 33 and put up 8.1 points and 2.7 rebounds per game.

Houston will get a major boost in the rotation in the early months of next year, on top of what has already been an impressive season.

Ja Morant's future with the Memphis Grizzlies has been a focal point around the NBA this season, but the Houston Rockets reportedly aren't a realistic landing spot.