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Rockets Visit Lakers in Finale of West Coast Road-Trip

Part 2 in LA.    Aging King.    End of the Road.

The Rockets close their road-trip with a meeting with LeBron James and the Lakers on Monday night. It’s the first matchup between Houston and the Lake Show this season. Both teams played yesterday, with the Lakers losing a nail biter at home to the Philadelphia 76ers. Houston suffered a blowout loss at the hands of the Lakers’ roomates, the Clippers. The Rockets are riding a ten-game losing streak. The Lakers have lost three straight, after running off five straight wins. Jalen Green and Jae’Sean Tate will return from their suspensions tonight. Kevin Porter Jr. is still out with a left knee injury. For Los Angeles, they’ve been without Anthony Davis for a few weeks, and he’ll remain out tonight. Russell Westbrook is now coming off the bench for the Lakers, as they’re desperately trying to dust-off a poor start to their season, given the expectations. The Lakers are currently 19-24, but given the parity in the Western Conference this season, L.A. finds themselves only two games out of the final play-in spot.

Even at age 38, LeBron James is still one of the best players on the planet, and the one of the smartest basketball players on the floor. Aging hasn’t stopped him (yet) from being a force in transition. The Rockets will need to play their best transition defense of the season if they want a chance to upset the Lakers tonight. And that’s asking a lot, considering Houston’s transition defense has been the worst in the league. Hopefully, Sengun sees more minutes against a Lakers team that is weak in the frontcourt without Davis in the lineup.

This is the final game of what has been a miserable road-trip for the Rockets. They’re 0-3 on the trip, with second-half collapses coming in all three games. Houston aims to put four quarters together tonight. They should get a boost with the return of Green and Tate. Hopefully, Daishen Nix doesn’t see 36 minutes of playing time, and the Rockets can have a more efficient performance overall. Houston usually plays well against the Lakers in Los Angeles. Maybe the dimmed lights of the arena formerly known as “Staples Center” will influence Rockets to staple their minds to the game plan… and close this road trip by ending the skid.

 

Crypto.com Arena:  Los Angeles, California

 

Jersey Colors:

Houston Rockets (10-33):  White

Los Angeles Lakers (19-24):  Yellow

 

Tip-Off:  9:30 PM CT

TV:  AT&T Sportsnet SW,  NBA TV

Rockets Collapse Late Again in 121-100 Loss to Clippers

Rotting on the Vine.    Necessary Conversion.    Staying Put.

Another road game, and the same old story for theses Rockets. Houston collapsed in the fourth quarter, as they fell to the Clippers, 121-100, on Sunday afternoon. The Rockets held a narrow lead at halftime, and trailed by only one point entering the final quarter, but Los Angeles dominated Houston in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Rockets 30-10 in the period. The loss is Houston’s 10th straight, and they’ve now lost 15 of their last 16 games overall. The Rockets are rotting on the vine as struggle to get past the ten-win mark as we’re firmly into the second half of the season.

Terrance Mann led the way for the Clips with a career-high 31 points. Kawhi Leonard added 30 points in his first matchup with Houston this season. Eric Gordon had a season-high 24 points to lead the Rockets, and KJ Martin had another solid performance, adding 22 points as he garnered another start with all of Houston’s missing players. The Rockets gave a valiant effort through three quarters, but as we witnessed in Sacremento, Houston just seems to run out of gas in the second half. The squad plays so hard, as if they exert all their energy in the first two and a half quarters. An NBA game is a marathon, not a sprint, and the Rockets need to start saving some of their energy for later in the contest.

Alperen Sengun had another solid game, as he barely eclipsed the 30-mintute mark despite the undermanned lineup for Houston. I don’t know why, but Stephen Silas has trouble giving Sengun the minutes he deserves. Silas took Sengun out of the game when it was tied 80-80. When Sengun returned to the floor 8 minutes later, the Rockets found themselves staring at a 9-point deficit. If Silas can’t convert to Sengun-ism soon, he has no chance of keeping his seat (which continues to heat) as Houston’s Head Coach. And Daishen Nix, who drew the start at point guard, had a torridly inefficient line in 36 minutes. Nix scored only 1 point, while snagging 1 rebound and 2 assists. He had 4 turnovers and 3 fouls, and he missed both of his shots (two three-pointers). If Nix is going to see more action than Sengun, he needs to produce well above the numbers he put up on Sunday afternoon. The Rockets sorely missed the liked of Jae’Sean Tate, Jalen Green, and Kevin Porter Jr. in the fourth quarter when the game got out of hands.

Up next for Houston, the squad stays put in Los Angeles. The Rockets take on the Lakers in the same building on Monday night. It’s the first matchup between Houston and LeBron’s Lakers this season. Hopefully the Rockets get reinforcements back as they get set to battle King James on Monday night.

Rockets Face Clippers in Sunday Matinee Matchup

Early Birds.    Missing Weapons.    Final Chance.

Houston travels to Los Angeles, for a weekend back-to-back against the L.A. teams this weekend. First, the Rockets take on the Clippers Sunday afternoon, in what will be the final time Houston faces off against Paul George and the Clips this season. The Rockets will then play LeBron James and the Lakers for the first time this season on Monday night. Houston enters Sunday’s game with the Clippers on a 9-game losing streak. The Rockets have lost 14 of their last 15 games overall, as the squad’s really hit the “Dog Days” of the NBA season, albeit earlier than most teams in the league. Houston has the NBA’s worst record, at 10-32, and have all but guaranteed a spot in the NBA’s draft lottery this summer. The Rockets are now playing for pride. They won’t win many games, but should aim to at least top the 20-victory mark. The last time they won, Houston wore black.  The Rockets will be sporting the black jerseys this afternoon, so maybe a little wardrobe magic help the squad break the skid.

On Sunday afternoon, Houston will be playing as shorthanded as they’ve ever been the squad in the Jalen Green Era. During Friday night’s Sacramento Scuffle, mainly between Garrison Mathews and Malik Monk, Jalen Green and Jae’Sean Tate did   temporarily leave the bench, as they were not in the game at the time. Under the NBA rules, that is a suspension, and both players miss Sunday’s game for Houston. The Rockets are still without Kevin Porter Jr. as well, who suffered a left knee contusion early Wednesday night in Sacramento. KPJ is listed as day-to-day on the injury report, but the Rockets won’t have him for sure on Sunday afternoon. Expect to see an interesting array of Houston rotations, as Stephen Silas is playing with a shortened deck against Tye Lue’s Clippers. Los Angeles limps into this game without Paul George, and in a funk themselves. The Clips are 1-7 in their last 8 games. L.A. went 7-2 in the previous 9 games before their struggles started. Sunday’s matchup is a battle between two shorthanded and slumping squads.

This is the Rockets’ final chance to beat the Clips this season. Houston is 0-3 against Los Angeles so far this season. The first matchup was a heartbreaking loss in L.A., as the Rockets collapsed late to lose by only two points. The two games in Houston were both essentially dominated by the Clippers. The Rockets will look to flip that trend in their final chance to take down the Clips. Houston is extremely shorthanded, but L.A. will be without Paul George for the firth straight game. This is the first time the Rockets will get a glimpse of the creator of Load Management himself, Kawhi Leonard. Kawhi missed Houston’s first three games due to injury, rest, or load management. It’s hard to tell with Leonard. Since winning the title with Toronto back in 2019, Kawhi’s missed more games than he’s played, and the Clippers haven’t been the title contender many expended when he came to town. For Sunday’s game, the shorthanded Rockets will have to hope their reservists step up and everyone plays the game of their life, if they want any chance to upset the Clippers in the final matchup this season. 

 

Crypto.com Arena:  Los Angeles, California

 

Jersey Colors:

Houston Rockets (10-32):  Black

Los Angeles Clippers (22-22):  White

 

Tip-Off:  2:00 PM CT

TV:  AT&T Sportsnet SW,  NBA League Pass

Rockets Unravel in Second Half, Fall to Kings, 139-114

Tale of Two Halves.    Early Deja Vu.    Mounting Frustrations.   

Houston fought hard in the first half on Friday night, but the Rockets lost their ninth straight game overall, and second in a row to Kings, 139-114, in Sacramento. This game was truly a tale of two halves. The Rockets were outscored by only 3 points, 69-66, in the first half. However, in the second half Sacramento dominated Houston, outscoring them by 22 points en route to a blowout victory. Harrison Barnes was on fire from beyond the arc, leading the Kings in scoring with 27 points. De’Aaron Fox had 24 points just as he did on Wednesday, and Domantas Sabonis had a triple-double for Sacramento, registering 19 points, 15 rebounds, and 16 assists. Houston was led by Jalen Green and Jabari Smith Jr. in scoring, both players scored 27 points on the night. Just his team’s performance, Green had a the best half of his career over the first two quarters, with 25 of his 27 coming in the first 24 minutes. He only managed 2 points in the second half, as the Rockets were dominated coming out of halftime.

Jabari Smith Jr.’s 27 points are a career-high for Houston’s promising rookie, who also secured 8 boards and 3 blocks, in one of the best games of his early career. Smith Jr. shot over 50%, 11-for-20 from the field on Friday, although he went only 2-for-7 from three-point range. Alperen Sengun registered 14 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 dimes. No other Rockets player reached double-figures, as Houston was overpowered in the second half. In the first matchup between these teams in Sacramento on Wednesday, the Rockets managed to stay with the Kings, until Sacramento pulled away in the fourth quarter. On Friday night, Houston experienced an earlier version of that deja vu, hanging with the Kings for the first half, before Sacramento punished the Rockets in the second half, turning the game into another blowout.

The loss is Houston’s ninth in a row, and the Rockets are 1-14 in their last 15 games overall. Frustrations are really starting to mount for this young team. Maybe it was seeing the Kings twice in three days, but Garrison Mathews and Malik Monk got into a scuffle that involved both players being ejected from the game. Garry Bird gave Monk an average NBA-shove, which apparently irritated Monk, who then immaturely poked the ball away from Mathews when play was stopped, which initiated the altercation. Houston will now head to Los Angeles for a back-to-back on Sunday and Monday against the Clippers and Lakers respectively. If the Rockets want to avoid reaching a double-digit skid, Houston will need to be ready earlier than usual on Sunday for an early afternoon matinee matchup against the Clippers. 

Rockets Rematch with Kings, Begin Season’s Second Half

A New Half.    Part 2.    Averting the Repeat.

The Rockets begin the second half of the NBA season right where the first half closed: a matchup with the Kings in Sacramento. In one of those oddities in the scheduling, these two squads will play in the same building for the second straight game. Houston slumps into the latter half of the season riding an 8-game losing streak. The Rockets will be without Kevin Porter Jr. tonight, who suffered a knee injury in the first quarter on Wednesday in Sacramento. Houston will need everyone to step up in Scoot’s absence. KJ Martin, coming off one of his best games of the year, will be the primary beneficiary in extra minutes in place of KPJ. Expect Jae’Sean Tate’s minutes to increase as well. Tate’s taken on the role of backup point guard, and could very well run the offense while KPJ is on the sidelines. The severity of Scoot’s injury isn’t known at the moment. It doesn’t appear to be anything serious, but expect KPJ to miss at least a few games in the coming days.

Houston will try and hold on for four quarters tonight, after playing a stellar three out of four quarters on Wednesday night in Part 1 of this matchup. If the Rockets want to win Part 2, they’re going to need smarter play down then stretch. Houston’s biggest weakness all season has been closing games. The Rockets can’t seem to slam the door shut on a team’s winning chances when the game’s on the line. Houston will look to put four efficient and productive quarters together to start the second half of the season.

The Kings will be trudging out the usual suspects the Rockets saw on Wednesday night. Expect Domantas Sabonis to be in line for another double-double, and De’Aaron Fox to one again eclipse the 20-point mark. However, if Houston can keep Sacramento’s All-Star duo from having breakout performances, the Rockets have a chance to pull the upset. Houston also needs to do a better job on Trey Lyles, Keegan Murray, and Harrison Barnes, who all had above-average games and were instrumental in dealing the Rockets a loss in the previous matchup. The Rockets shouldn’t be playing with any pressure over these final 41 games. They have nothing to lose, the squad is firmly a contender in the Victor Wembanyama Sweepstakes this summer. It’s time for Houston to show influential improvement on the court, starting tonight with a victory to close out their second game in Sacramento.

Golden 1 Center:  Sacramento, California

 

Jersey Colors:

Houston Rockets (10-31):  White

Sacramento Kings (22-18):  Black

 

Tip-Off:  9:00 PM CT

TV:  AT&T Sportsnet SW,  NBA League Pass

Rockets Bow to Kings, 135-115, to Close out Season’s First Half

Halfway Home.    Insult to Injury.    3 for 4.

In Sacramento, Houston led after three quarters but let another game slip away, las they lost to the Kings, 135-115, on Wednesday night. Houston actually started the game on an 8-0 run, and remained competitive throughout three quarters, even managing to secure an edge before the fourth quarter. The Rockets led 95-94 heading into the final period, but ran out of gas once again as the wheels fell off to close the game. Sacramento outscored Houston 41-20 in the fourth quarter, as the Rockets had no answers for Domantas Sabonis or De’Aaron Fox. Sabonis garnered his 18th consecutive double-double, registering 25 points and 14 boards to go along with 9 assists. Sabonis leads the NBA in double-doubles this season, and was a force to reckon with all night for Houston. Fox added 24 points and some crucial late offense as the Kings overpowered the Rockets late in Sac-Town.

Jalen Green led Houston with 26 points, but struggled with his shot, going 9-for-25 from the floor. Alperen Sengun had the first triple-double of his career, registering a triple-10 with 10 points, rebounds, and assists apiece. Eric Gordon chipped in 19 points, and KJ Martin continues to be the Sixth Man for the Rockets, as he scored 21 points, on another efficient shooting night. Martin entered the game with dunks on three consecutive Houston possessions, and scored 9 first quarter points to lead all players. Martin is having a breakout season in his own right, and will have an opportunity to display more of his extreme talent and athleticism at the NBA’s Slam Dunk Contest over All-Star Weekend in Salt Lake City, Utah. Expect KJ to be a sleeper pick to win the Dunk Contest. It’ll give Martin a wider audience than usual, as Rocket games are basically never nationally televised this season. Look at Houston’s collapse on Wednesday nights and their overall record (10-31), for examples why they’re almost never on national TV this year.

Houston has struggled mightily, whether it’s starting or ending the game, to put four quarters together. They need to translate the hard effort they put into three quarters into four quarters, or this Rockets team is going to suffer more collapses in the second half than anticipated. The squad needs to focus on not taking their foot off the gas. Once Houston has the lead, they get too complacent. And if they have a bad start, they’ll often make a valiant comeback effort, but it’s usually too little too late. The Rockets need to realize the value of all four quarters, they can’t settle for three great quarters. Houston needs to play hard the entirety of an NBA basketball game. An element sorely lacking in the Rockets’ mantra at the moment.

To add insult to injury, the Rockets lost Kevin Porter Jr. to an injury late in the first quarter. The severity of the injury isn’t known at this point, but Scoot reportedly suffered a left knee contusion, and could miss several games. Expect Martin to be the primary beneficiary of those extra minutes if KPJ does indeed miss extended time. Hopefully, Scoot can return to the court soon, as KPJ has been Houston’s most consistent player over the first half of this season. Regardless, it will give Martin at least more chances to show the NBA world why he’s one of the best young role players in the league.

The Rockets are now officially halfway through their season. Houston boasts a 10-31 record at the midway point, good for the worst record in the entire league. The squad is aiming for a more consistent second-half of the season, that hopefully will show improvement over what was a miserable first half. The squad begins the second half of the season facing these same Kings one more time in Sacramento on Friday night. It’s hard to beat the same team twice in the NBA… can the Rockets prove that statement’s merit this weekend? Tune in on Friday night, as Houston begins the second half of the season.

Rockets Begin Road-Trip with a Double-Dip Versus the Kings

Sacramento Two-Step.    Tough Tests Await.    Embrace the Suck.

After a lengthy stay at home, the Rockets head on the road for a West-Coast trip, beginning with two matchups against the Kings. Sacramento is playing the best basketball the franchise has seen in at least a decade. The Kings currently hold the fifth spot in the West, and are led by point-guard De’Aaron Fox, and Center Domantas Sabonis, both All-Star-caliber players. Houston has a tough matchup in store for them, not only tonight, but on this entire road trip. They’ll place these same Kings, in the same jersey colors, at the same time and place on Friday night. It’s hard to beat the same team twice in a row, especially a young team with the playoffs in their sights. Afterwards, the Rockets head to L.A. for a tough back-to-back against the Clippers and Lakers. It won’t be easy, but Houston’s best chance for victory is likely one of these first two games in Sacramento.

If the Rockets can’t get a win on this road-trip they’re staring at an 11-game losing streak, which would tie them for the longest skids in the NBA this season with the San Antonio Spurs. If Houston wants any chance against an upstart Kings team, they’ll need to follow Tari Eason’s statements earlier this week. Eason said “embrace the suck… in times like these when things are difficult, just embrace the things you don’t want to do.” And that’s exactly what the Rockets need to start doing. By embracing “the suck”, Houston needs to play defense, they’ve become one of the worst if not the league’s worst defensive team. The Rockets also need to protect and move the ball on offense, as this team has become too isolation-happy on the perimeter, and it kills any momentum Houston gains as a team offensively. On defense, they simply need more effort. Get back on defense in transition, help out on the weak-side, it’s the basics, and fundamentals, which are destroying the Rockets defensively.

If Houston does one thing sort of well, it’s play the underdog card. They at least seem to be more competitive in games against better teams, so we’ll see if that continues tonight in Sac-Town. It’s the first of two in a row against the Kings, as these two squads will meet again in California’s capital on Friday night. Can the Rockets finally end the losing streak? They’ve got nothing to lose. Houston has firmly all but guaranteed themselves a spot in the Victor Wembanyama-sweepstakes, taking place this summer. The Rockets have been in it for a while, we all have, at least true fans of the team. What is it? As Tari Eason said, “the suck.” Houston’s been firmly stuck in “the suck” for the past thirteen games, as they’ve gone 1-12 in that span. It’s time the Rockets finally starts to play with an edge, and make smarter decisions over the span of a game. As weird as it sounds… it’s time to “embrace the suck.”

 

Golden 1 Center:  Sacramento, California

 

Jersey Colors:

Houston Rockets (10-30):  White

Sacramento Kings (21-18):  Black

 

Tip-Off:  9:00 PM CT

TV:  AT&T Sportsnet SW,  NBA League Pass

Rockets Fall to Wolves, 104-96, for 7th Straight Loss

The Blues.    Reverse Wreckage.    Lacking the Sauce.

A 20-point lead wasn’t even enough for Houston to break the losing streak, as the Rockets lost to the Timberwolves, 104-96, on Sunday night. The defeat is Houston’s seventh in a row, and puts the squad now 20 games below .500 (10-30) on the season. Unlike many Rockets losses this season, this game had a different feel from the start, deceiving as it may have been. Houston came out of the gates ready to play, and earned a 9-point lead after the first quarter. The Rockets held a 58-38 lead in the second period before everything began to unravel. Once they had this 20-point lead, it appeared Houston was be on the verge of breaking the skid, but the Rockets wouldn’t add any more points to their edge. Houston was outscored by Minnesota 66-38 for the remainder of the contest. De’Angelo Russell scored 22 points, and Anthony Edwards added 21 points to lead the the Wolves’ attack. The victory gives Minnesota their fourth in a row, after losing their previous six straight games.

Kevin Porter Jr. led the Rockets with 25 points, and Alperen Sengun 18 points for Houston, although the big man didn’t score in the second half. Houston needs to use Sengun as often as possible on the offense. There’s no reason he should go scoreless in a full half. The Rockets need to do a better job of getting him the ball, while Sengun needs to demand the rock the on offense. The big man has a mismatch almost every night, and Houston needs to start taking advantage of their big weapon.

The Rockets led 58-38, before everything went wrong on Sunday night. Sengun only had 6 shots in the second half, and didn’t make a single one. This game was a sort of reverse wreckage for Houston, who is so used to playing from behind. The squad clearly became way too comfortable once they’d secured the 20-point lead. It was all too early in the matchup, as Minnesota had plenty of time to mount a comeback to deal the Rockets another loss. The main reason Houston lost is their lack of using the Sengun, and the “Sauce” he provides with his ridiculously talented post moves and passing on offense.The Rockets will now hit the road for a tough four-game trip out West. They’ll play the Kings twice in Sacramento, followed by a back-to-back against the Clippers and Lakers in L.A. to start next week. It won’t be easy to break the losing streak now that Houston is playing four straight tough road games. But the Rockets have a weird tendency to play better in games they shouldn’t win, as opposed to the embarrassment witnessed on Sunday night at Toyota Center. Hopefully that weird trend will show its face on the road, as the tough only gets tougher for the Rockets over the next four games. 

Rockets Host Wolves in Final Game Before Road-Trip

Howling Back.    Off Pace.    Last Chance Center.    

Houston plays their final game at home on Sunday before heading out on a four-game road-trip. The Minnesota Timberwolves come to town, as the Rockets try and win their first home game since December 13th. Houston has lost six straight games and 11 of their last 12 overall. This is the lowest point for this Rockets team this season, as they currently have the worst record in the entire NBA. They’ll aim to snap their home skid with an inspired win over the Wolves tonight.

Minnesota has been without their best player, Karl-Anthony Towns, who has been out with an injury for a few weeks. The Wolves still have plenty of weapons on their roster. Lethal swingman Anthony Edwards is questionable for tonight, and Minnesota also has De’Angelo Russell and Rudy Gobert in the lineup. The latter duo combined for 50 points in the Wolves last game, a win over the Clippers on Friday night. Minnesota has now won three consecutive games after suffering through a six-game losing streak. The Rockets will try and push the Wolves back off track with a victory on Sunday.

Houston is currently one game (10-29) behind their pace from last season (11-28). The Rockets weren’t expected to make the playoffs this year, but they were due to make some improvement. Hopefully that comes in the second half of the season, which is two games away. Look for Jae’Sean Tate’s minutes to increase as he dusts the rust off  from not playing for 31 consecutive games. This is another game Houston has a great chance to win, but the Rockets have missed these opportunities more often than not this season. For some reason, they play better as the heavy underdog, as opposed to when they’re given a chance to win. Houston is desperate to break their losing streak at home. And Sunday night is their last chance to get a win at Toyota Center for 10 days… if anything, expect a closer, more completive game than the Rockets have shown in recent contests.

 

Toyota Center:  Houston, Texas

 

Jersey Colors:

Minnesota Timberwolves (19-21):  Black

Houston Rockets (10-29):  Red

 

Tip-Off:  6:00 PM CT

TV:  AT&T Sportsnet SW,  NBA League Pass

Rockets Miss the Beat in 131-114 Loss to Jazz

Too Comfortable.    Locker Room Leader.    Same Old Song.

The return Jae’Sean Tate to the roster wasn’t enough to break Houston’s losing streak on Thursday night, as the Rockets lost to the Utah Jazz, 131-114, at home. This game will be known as the “Lauri Markannen Game” in Rockets basketball history. The Jazz forward exploded for a career-high 49 points, on an efficient 15-for-27 shooting. Markannen also went a perfect 13-for-13 from the charity stripe. Houston had no answer for Utah’s best player on Thursday, as Markannen fell just a point shy of the NBA’s 15th 50-point game this season. Jordan Clarkson and Malik Beasley added 19 points apiece for the Jazz, who controlled almost the entirety of the game. The Rockets allowed a season-high 131 points, and their defense was essentially non-existent. Houston allowed Utah to become too comfortable on offense, allowing open three after open three, and failing to provide much help-defense. It was the same old song for these Rockets, as they dug themselves another hole that was too steep to escape. Houston started with an 11-7 lead in the first quarter, briefly regained the lead in the third, but this matchup was dominated by Utah, who led by as many as 22 points.  The Rockets trailed 110-106 with 5:35 remaining in the contest, but the Jazz outscored Houston 21-8 to end the game, putting away any hopes for a Rocket victory. Markannen outscored Houston by himself, 14-8, in the final five plus minutes of the game. Jalen Green led the Rockets with 30 points, and Kevin Porter Jr. provided 23 points, but the Rockets backcourt struggled once again shooting the ball. Green and KPJ took exactly half of the Houston’s 92 shot attempts, connecting on only 16 of them, for a 35%  shooting percentage. It’s simply too high a volume for two players who haven’t been consistent enough shooting the ball this season. A trend that happens way too frequently for this young, developing squad.

The Rockets need to run more of the offense through Alperen Sengun, who had his team-high 10th double-double of the season against the Jazz. Sengun finished with 20 points and 14 boards in 32 minutes of action, proving once again how valuable he is when he receives decent playing time on the court. Sengun is averaging 18 points and 12 rebounds when he plays at least 30 minutes a game this season. Unfortunately, this was only the seventh time Sengen surpassed that mark this season. Stephen Silas needs to start showing more faith in his starting big man. Jabari Smith Jr. played only 20 minutes, as Markannen did most of his early damage on Smith Jr. It wasn’t the rookie’s best defensive showing by any measure. In his return, Jae’Sean Tate scored 11 points in 19 minutes of limited action. Expect Tate’s playing time to increase as the rust wears off from missing more than 30 games in a row. Despite playing less than 20 minutes, it’s already obvious how much Tate helps this roster when he’s on the court. He brings a sorely-needed level of intensity and energy on both ends of the floor. Tate’s ball handling skills also solves Houston’s backup point guard issue. Defensively, he held the red-hot Markannen to 1-4 shooting, despite being much shorter. Tate is the toughest player on the Rockets, and although his return didn’t carry over to the result Houston hoped for, it’s good to see the team’s locker room leader back in action. Stephen Silas even commented in his post-game presser on how much Tate is like a coach on the floor for Houston. Expect the Rockets to be better in the second half of the season, as we have only two games remaining before Houston reaches the halfway mark.

The Rockets are now tied for the NBA’s worst record (10-29) with the Charlotte Hornets. Houston is even one game behind their pace from last season (11-28) at this point. Can the Rockets turn things around soon, or will the squad tighten its grip on the league’s worst record? If Houston is going to have a better second half this season, the Rockets need to improve playing off the ball. The squad is too focused on getting on SportsCenter with an isolation play as opposed to playing team basketball. Their defense has been horrible. Communication on both ends of the court needs to increase, and as a team and individually Houston desperately needs to work harder off the ball. So much more happens than meets the eye when a player doesn’t have the ball in his hands. The team is standing around and not making plays happen when they don’t have the ball individually in their hands. Stephen Silas, as much as he deserves another shot with this young roster, might be coaching for his job if the Rockets don’t show some improvement soon. Besides dropping their sixth straight game, they’ve now lost 11 of their past 12 games overall. It was the same old song on Thursday night, which provided another bad loss in a season full of them for the young squad. The offense needs some sort of system. Too much isolation and no consistency whatsoever is killing Houston’s offense. They rank third-to-last in half-court points-per-possession, a sign of the lack of efficiency in the squad’s offensive sets. Silas needs to change something up with his system, or this may be his last season as the man in charge for the Rockets. Houston still can’t stop whoever catches fire on the opposition, and struggle getting the ball to the man with the hot hand on their own team. The Rockets return to play at home one more time, on Sunday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves, before heading on a tough four-game road-trip out west. Hopefully the squad can break the losing streak this weekend, as Sunday will be Houston’s best chance for victory in the next five games.