Mauling in Memphis: Grizzlies School Rockets, 136-102
Dirty Dozen. Pushed Back. Drawing Board.
The Rockets trailed by as many as 40 points, as they got routed by the Grizzlies, 136-102, in Memphis on Monday night. Houston never made the matchup competitive, trailing by 13 points after the first period, usually the squad’s best. Ja Morant led the Grizz with 22 points, and five other Memphis players chipped in with at least 12 points in their balanced attack. Jalen Green led the Rockets with 15 points, on a slightly improved 6-for-13 shooting, but the rookie still has a long way to go to live up to the hype. Jae’Sean Tate continues to be Houston’s most consistent player on both ends of the court. Tate supplied 14 points and 9 boards, and his usual energy for the squad. Too bad it’s not become infectious with his teammates. This was one of the uglier losses in Houston’s franchise-worst start to the season, and not how the Rockets wanted to begin their four-game road trip. Houston has now lost a dozen games in a row, as the losses are beginning to pile up.
Memphis’ defense did a solid job of pushing the Rockets offense back towards the perimeter. The Grizzlies kept Houston out of the lane, and forced the Rockets to take difficult shots from deep. Alperen Sengun continues to flourish in limited minutes. Sengun has shown an innate ability to pass the ball with skill, and his defense has come better than expected. The Turkish rookie scored 9 points and grabbed 5 boards in a limited 18 minutes of action in Houston’s latest loss. Should Sengun get the starting nod? Rockets coach Stephen Silas says tinkering with the starting lineup in the future could be possibility, and inserting Sengun into a starting role would really help the squad. Houston played with better spacing in the games Sengun started, and passed the ball more efficiently as a team.
The Rockets now are 1-13, by far the worst record in the NBA. And it doesn’t get any easier, with three more road games before returning to Houston. How can the squad snag a victory? Back to the drawing boad… changes in the starting lineup are essential, and the team has to play with more swagger, despite their record. It’s hard to play with confidence when you’ve lost this many games in a row, but the Rockets have to forget about their record, and work on improving their on-court chemistry. Stephen Silas and the squad need a victory soon, or they could end up on the wrong side in the history books. Houston’s best chance at a win comes on this road trip’s next stop, in Oklahoma City against the Thunder, the lone team the Rockets have beaten all season. Although OKC has improved since the home opener at Toyota Center, and Houston will need to improve on the fly if they want to end this losing streak soon.