The Houston Rockets underwent a big change over the summer, ending the Chris Paul experiment after two seasons by trading him to the Oklahoma City Thunder for another star point guard: Russell Westbrook. There were a few other additions as well, but for the most part this is the same team that took the Warriors to six games in the second round of the playoffs last season. With the field as wide open as it’s been in a long time, they were expected to once again be a contender in the West.

So far, the returns have been disappointing. Through the first two weeks, they’re 3-3, but are perhaps lucky to even be staying afloat at .500. Their three wins are by a combined eight points, and have come against some of the worst teams in the league — the Pelicans, Thunder and Wizards. They have an abysmal defense, are shooting 30.7 percent from 3 and on Sunday were flat-out embarrassed by the Heat, trailing by 41 points before going on to lose by 29. 

Things weren’t looking much better on Monday night, when they traveled to Memphis to take on the Grizzlies. Late in the first half, they put together a sequence that perfectly summed up their disaster start to the season. Due to pitiful defense and poor decision making, they allowed Dillon Brooks to score four of the easiest points he’ll get all season, all in a few-second span. 

With just under two minutes left in the second quarter, Brooks caught a skip pass in the corner and was met by James Harden. Or, well, Harden was standing near him. The Rockets star — who has always struggled on the defensive end — never got squared up, and showed Brooks a path right to the basket. Three different Rockets in the vicinity of the restricted area stood and watched while Brooks coasted in for a slam. 

As Brooks hung on the rim to add some emphasis to his slam, Ben McLemore tried to inbound the ball quickly and get the Rockets going the other way. He rushed his pass, though, and threw it right to Brooks. The Grizzlies wing landed from his first dunk, and went right back up with the ball for another easy bucket. 

The Rockets are so talented, and there’s so long to go in the season that you have to give them the benefit of the doubt that they can turn this thing around. James Harden won’t continue to shoot 21.5 percent from beyond the arc, opponents aren’t going to shoot 45 percent on above the break 3s all season long — the worst percentage allowed last season was 37.6 percent by the Cavaliers — and more games together will lead to more cohesion. 

But sometimes teams show you who they are, and instead of trying to figure out why it’s not real, you just have to believe them. This feels like one of those moments. Even if the Rockets do improve as the season goes along, they have some issues, especially on the defensive end, that aren’t going away.