HOUSTON, TX - OCTOBER 29: General Manager Daryl Morery of the Houston Rockets introduces James Harden to the media on October 29, 2012 at Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2012 NBAE (Photo by Bill Baptist/NBAE via Getty Images)

Through the first few weeks of the season, the Houston Rockets have the NBA’s second best defense.

The man who built it says there’s no reason they can’t keep it up through the season’s last week.

GM Daryl Morey told Sports Radio 610’s “In The Loop” on Tuesday he thinks the Rockets have the potential to finish among the best in the league.

“I think for sure (we can be) top 5,” Morey said. “But I hope we finish 1. I don’t know how good we can be. I feel very good about it. “Again, I mean, not many teams have as many good defenders as we do in the starting lineup. I think when the backups come in, you know, we’ve got to get some better play there, but yeah, I think top 5 is sustainable, and hopefully we can sustain 2, 1, 3, whatever. So long as we’re top 5, we’ll be in good shape.”

Not only have the Rockets allowed only 90.9 points per game, second fewest in the league, they also have three of the top eight players on the defensive win shares leaderboard — headlined by James Harden, who ranks fourth. Dwight Howard and Trevor Ariza rank seventh and eighth, respectively. Harden, Howard and Ariza also rank ninth, fifth and 11th in defensive rating, providing more supporting argument.

Morey has been on the record as saying the Rockets need a top 10 defense to win a championship, something that neither he nor players have shied away from as the franchise’s objective for the foreseeable future. The early contributions of Howard and Ariza, renowned defensive stalwarts, and Harden, a guy we figured had always been capable but had never been properly motivated, make that seem more than feasible.

The key, as Morey said, will be if Houston’s role players can maintain that level of excellence when the starters are on the bench. That falls on Patrick Beverly, Isaiah Canaan, Kostas Papanikolaou and to a lesser degree Donatas Motiejunas and Tarik Black.

Hear Matt weekends on Sports Radio 610

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