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In a highly-competitive Western Conference with emerging threats in Portland and Denver and perennial mainstays like Oklahoma City and San Antonio, the Rockets are holding their own, and that's not because of luck. First off, their offense has taken off to the top of the charts, the Rockets having the No. 1 scoring team in the league (109.1 points per game). Second, the team has started to show signs that they can play together, always a concern during constant changes that the roster has undergone since the 2011-12 season. Unlike their counterparts in Hollywood, the L.A. Lakers, the acquisition of Dwight Howard has been paying off huge dividends for Houston. Howard has helped the Rockets grab 46.1 rebounds per game, third best in the NBA. And his No. 9-ranked 1.84 blocks has been a big help to a team that is still having trouble containing their opponents on the defensive side (the Rockets allow 110.0 points, second worst in the NBA to Philadelphia's 110.1 points allowed).

But one key discovery has also helped the Rockets on their path from worst to almost-first: the bench. After Carlos Delfino's exit to Milwaukee, Houston was left with a deficit of talent on their bench that threatened to undermine the potency of their starting five that included Howard, All-Star James Harden and dangerous sharpshooter Chandler Parsons. However, their reserves corps has started to look a lot more potent thanks in part to Aaron Brooks becoming a revelation on offense, solid contributing from Omer Asik (however long he may remain a part of the roster) and sharp shooting from Omri Casspi.

Oh, yeah, and there's this one other guy-Jeremy Lin, one of the best sixth men in the NBA through the month of November.

Source: Crossmap | Jean-Paul Salamanca, LatinoPost.com