Afternoon Nightmare: Rockets Get Stung by Hornets, 108-99, Drop Third Straight
Sluggish Start. Serious Buzzkill. Trouble Awaits.
That was painful. After putting on one of the worst starts to a game in franchise history, failing to score in the first seven minutes of action, and falling behind 20-0, the Rockets managed to climb back in the game. But Houston never didn’t have enough steam when the fourth quarter came around to rally all the way back, even against a team 20 game under .500. Resulting in another embarrassing, inexplicable defeat, for the Rockets, as they fell in Charlotte, 108-99, to the Hornets. It’s Houston’s third straight start, and after the Hornets 20-0 run to start the game, the Rockets outscored Charlotte the rest of the way. But you can’t keep falling behind by big deficits, not in this league. Saturday night was the fourth consecutive game the Rockets have fallen behind by 17 or more points, in the first half alone. The squad was lucky to get the win in Boston, surviving by one in OT, otherwise Houston would be starting at a four-game skid at the moment.
James Harden had a triple-double with 30 points, 14 dimes, and 10 boards. However, the Beard’s shot is still nowhere to be found. Harden seemed scared to shoot, passing up easy layups and open threes. Harden finished only 2-for-11 from distance, as his drought from long-range continues. His over dribbling takes teammates out of rhythm, and wastes the infinite open space small ball gives Houston. Something’s wrong with the Beard, and if he can’t figure it out, whatever it is… the Rockets’ title chances are out the window. Robert Covington scored 25 points on 7-for-13 shooting from deep. RoCo, along with the other new Rockets, Jeff Green and DeMarre Carroll, were the only bright spots for Houston on Saturday. In limited time, Carroll continues to show he deserves more action. In only 18 minutes, Carroll scored 9 points, and his energy level matched Green and RoCo’s. Green had 20 points in this best game as a Rocket, but other than RoCo, no one else came to the party. And this was a bash the Rockets really needed. Charlotte just isn’t any good, compared to Houston’s potential. After looking like serious title contenders last week, the Rockets look like the worst team in the basketball at the moment. It’s incomprehensible, other than their collective mindset has regressed back to the days of playing it “cool.” What’s not cool is Houston’s upcoming schedule.
The Rockets still have to play at the Bucks and Lakers, the league’s top two teams by record. After the game in LA, they play every other day except for a two day break before they enter a brutal finishing stretch of five games in seven days in April. They won’t have Russell Westbrook in two of those games, a player Houston now seems to need on the court to win. He’ll be back as the Rockets take on Orlando on Sunday. It’s the second of a back-to-back. And the third game in four days. The rest of the Rockets will be fighting fatigue. Houston will need some Brodie magic if they want to diminish the pain.