The Houston Rockets ran their record to 8-6 on the season going 2-2 this past week, losing nail-biters to the Los Angeles Lakers (105-104) and Golden State Warriors (121-116) on the road, but then coming back home to pummel the Memphis Grizzlies (111-91) and defending champion Denver Nuggets (105-86) at the friendly confines of the Toyota Center.

The Rockets’ season thus far has been one of streaks. They started the year losing three in a row and followed that up by ripping off six straight. They then dropped three in a row before winning two in a row this past week.

This week’s games were best characterized by the breakout of shooting guard Jalen Green. Green had been mired in a dreadful shooting slump during which he shot just 30.6% from the floor in five games between November 10 and November 20. Green exploded against the Grizzlies to the tune of 34 points on 13-for-26 shooting; he then followed that up with a 25 point outing on 10-for-18 shooting against the Nuggets.

The win over the Nuggets came as particularly surprising given that it was a rematch against the defending champions. The Rockets had narrowly edged Denver back on November 12, 107-104. Houston trounced the Nuggets from the second period onward with a stifling defensive effort which held every Nugget in check, aside from center Nikola Jokic.

It doesn’t get any easier this week as the Rockets visit the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday, Denver yet again on Wednesday, and the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday.

The win against Denver moved Houston to 2-1 in tournament games. With a win against Dallas on Tuesday, the Rockets will qualify for the tournament quarterfinals. They will be eliminated with a loss.

In games played through Sunday, the Rockets find themselves possessing the league’s top ranked defense with a defensive rating of 106.8. They’re sixth in net rating at +5.1 and 20th in offense with an offensive rating of 111.9.

When the Rockets hired Ime Udoka this past offseason and signed forward Dillon Brooks to a four-year $86 million contract, their hope was to revamp one of the worst defenses in the league. Not even the most optimistic of observers could have predicted the rapid nature of the eventual turnaround.

The Rockets’ identity is coming into clear focus. Houston switches and defends one-on-one, rarely sending help, unless to cover for a clear mismatch. Udoka said recently that the foundation of the team’s defense was to take away opponents’ options and make them beat the Rockets one on one. Against the Nuggets, center Alperen Sengun was left on an island to defend Jokic without help, with Udoka matching Sengun minute for minute with Jokic. While Jokic put up 38 points (14-for-31 from the floor), the Nuggets scored just 86 points.

The big question is to whether this shocking turnaround is for real. 14 out of 82 total games are in the books. How big must the sample size get for it to be safe to hail the Rockets as legit?