Rockets Wilt to Heat, 120-113, Begin Road Trip
Herro Ball. Burnout. The Commencement.
Entering the longest road trip of the season, the Rockets had confidence after an impressive victory over the Bucks to close their home-stand. Miami took shots at that confidence, as the Heat were red-hot from the floor en route to dealing Houston a 120-113 defeat. The loss puts the Rockets at 3-11 now on the road, with five more games upcoming on this trip. Houston trailed early, fought back with an 8-0 run to tie the game at halftime, but didn’t have enough second-half energy to regain the lead, as Miami cruised to a seven-point win. Tyler Herro led the way for Heat with another dominant performance against the Rockets. Herro finished with 28 points on 50% shooting to lead Miami’s offensive charge. Bam Adebayo was a force on the inside for the Heat, scoring 22 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. It was another tough matchup for Alperen Sengun, who still managed to record a 22-point, 11-rebound double-double on the night, despite having a sub-par performance.
Fred VanVleet led Houston with 32 points and 7 assists. Jalen Green had another poor outing, as his inconsistency on the road continues to flare up at the wrong times. Green scored only 11 points on 2-for-10 shooting from the field. Cam Whitmore scored the same amount of points as Green (11) in only 17 minutes of playing time. Some people around the city think Whitmore is a better long-term prospect than Green, and if Jalen doesn’t show improvement, his long-term role on this squad could be in jeopardy. The Rockets need Jalen Green to find a way to get in rhythm on the road. His home and road splits are polarizing. The young guard needs to get his head up, as he’ll have several chances to improve his road performance in the upcoming weeks. Are the Rockets burned out? We’re approaching the dog days of the NBA season, as the All-Star break nears, and the immense length of the campaign begins to take its toll on players. Houston needs to figure out how to escape their current road funk.
Monday night’s contest was the first of six in a row on the road for the Rockets. Up next they’ll travel to Chicago to face the inconsistent Bulls, before heading to Detroit and Boston over the weekend for a back-to-back. They’ll then at Philadelphia and New York to close out the road trip. Houston needs to hope they can win at least two of these games, with Chicago and Detroit being the easiest on this trip. The squad is anxiously awaiting the return of Tari Eason and Dillon Brooks, who’s absences have been sorely felt on the defesnive end. Houston needs to grind out a couple of wins minus two of their key players, otherwise, with a record of 18-17, the Rockets may find themselves losing confidence… and slipping in the crowded Western Conference standings.