The Houston Rockets are legit. They’ve been good all season, but questions remained about exactly how good this team really was. No top-tier superstars (though certainly some top-tier athletes), and a boatload of young guys, finally melded togther by a couple of hard-nosed veterans and even harder head coach. But following their 135-131 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers, their second win against the Eastern Conference-leading Cavs in as many games, the Rockets have shown they are good enough to beat anyone.

Ime Udoka has famously said “No friends on the floor”, and the Rockets seem to have finally realized that each game is no longer about how their opponent plays or who their opponent is, but about themselves. Play the way they are capable of playing, and they’re going to win.

They’ve been doing it with defense all season. They’ve been doing it with athleticism and overwhelming teams with a lineup of tenacity from the starters all the way down the bench. And they’ve been starting to do it with offense now more often as well.

Alperen Sengun and Jalen Green are playing great together more often these days, so much so that it’s been pretty regular occurence as late. Over his last 15 games, Green is averaging 25.7 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.1 assists on 47.4 percent shooting from the field and 45 percent from three on 8.7 attempts per game. On top of that, he’s also totally bought in on defense. Over Sengun’s last 15 games, he’s averaging 20.7 points, 10.3 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.4 steals on 50.8 percent shooting from the floor. If the Rockets have a current All-Star, it’s Sengun.

And Amen Thompson has been a true revelation. I remember James Piercey here last season (shout out to our old friend James) kept telling me that Amen had the potential to be one of the best players in the league. I wasn’t so sure at the time, but you are starting to see glimpses of how that can be possible. Over Thompson’s last 12 games, he’s averaging 16.1 points, 11 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 2 steals and 1.4 blocks per game on 56.7 percent shooting. If that three-ball ever comes together, the sky is certainly the limit for the just 21-year-old. He’s more than filled in for the injured Jabari Smith, so much so that there are legitimate questions to ask whether Jabari should come off the bench behind Thompson. And I’m still very high on Jabari Smith Jr. It’s just that Amen’s been that good.

The Rockets still have two performing veterans in Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks. And while both have had some ups and downs this season, they have been the on-court glue for this team. There’s also a legit question that it’s maybe Brooks who goes to the bench once Smith returns, but Brooks has been one of the primary catalysts in helping turn the direction of the franchise around from an attitude and locker room standpoint.

That’s not to say of 20-year-old Cam Whitmore, who’s been pushing for more and more playing time with another round of athleticism and physicality coming off the bench. Over his last 15, he’s averaging 12.1 points and 3.9 rebounds on 45.3 percent from the field and 39.4 percent from deep. Whitmore is the perfect bucket-getter for the second unit. He’s also been playing over 20 minutes per night, and any questions about whether or not he was unhappy seemed to have melted away for now.

Thompson’s fellow Terror Twin Tari Eason finally looks like he’s healthy after sitting out some time resting his leg and scaring every red-blooded Rockets fan out there. He’s averaged 11.6 points, 5 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 2.6 steals per game since returning, and he’s even hitting 41.7 percent of his threes.

The Rockets have some other bench veterans who have been reliable lately as well. Jae’Sean Tate has stepped up for some big plays, and Steven Adams has been looking a lot better of late also. Maybe he just needed some time to round back into basketball shape?

The short of it is, this Rockets team is good. At 30-14, we haven’t seen them look this good since James Harden was in his prime. Do they still have growing to do? Of course. They still need to shoot better and they need to get better closing out games, but that second part comes with experience. The first part, Jabari Smith will help with probably after the All-Star break. There could be a small move on the margins at the deadline.

But otherwise, this is tough group to beat. Certainly not unbeatable. They have tough road matches coming up with Boston and Memphis, as well as a difficult upcoming schedule overall. But as the Rockets are believing in themselves and stacking up wins, they’ve proven they should be taken seriously.