Rockets Fall Behind Early, Lose to Thunder, 101-89
Unlucky Thirteen. Hotter Seat. Looking Back at Fifteen.
For the 13th straight game, the Houston Rockets found themselves on the wrong side of the score board. Houston trailed by double digits at halftime, and made it close in the fourth quarter, before the Thunder pulled away, dealing the Rockets a 101-89 defeat. Lugentz Dort, who’s playing the best basketball of his life, led OKC with 34 points. The loss pushes Houston’s losing streak to a baker’s dozen, and questions have arisen about Stephen Silas and his rotational choices. Giving Silas the benefit of the doubt, the Rockets have had one of the toughest early schedules, and they do have an extremely, young raw team. However, after blowing out OKC in their home opener, Houston should’ve put up more of a fight on Wednesday night. Granted, Kevin Porter Jr. missed this contest with an injury, but the Rockets still had enough firepower to win. Jalen Green led Houston’s scoring charge with 21 points. Green’s started to slowly shoot the ball more efficiently as the season moves on and the rookie adjusts to the NBA game. Jae’Sean Tate continued his consistency streak. Tate scored 16 points and grabbed 8 boards in another energetic, hustle-filled performance. And Christian Wood secured another double-double, adding 10 points and 14 rebounds. Alperen Sengun, who’s been arguably the best player-per minute for the Rockets all season, only saw five minutes of action on Wednesday. A sign that something needs to change.
Coach Stephen Silas credited Daniel Theis’ defense for one of the reasons Sengun saw little time. But in a rebuilding season, especially when the Rockets are losing these games anyway, the future core of the squad needs to see more minutes. Green is getting plenty of looks, but Alperen Sengun and K.J. Martin have both shown with their play this season, they deserve more minutes. Houston wants to play fast with their young athletic group, but the Rockets scored only 4 fast-break points against a sub-par Thunder team. Coincidentally, Houston’s most-athletic player, K.J. Martin, played only 12 minutes in this contest, yet still managed to score 6 points and snag 3 boards. Martin and Sengun need more minutes, or the rumors of Stephen Silas on the hot seat will only heat up.
We’re now fifteen games into the season. No one expected the Rockets to have a winning record at this point. But no one expected a 1-14 start either. It’s the worst start in franchise history, and Houston is on pace for the worst record in NBA history (5-77) if they continue with this pace. Obviously, the schedule has been brutal for the Rockets to start the season. But they’ve shown they can compete with good teams (the one point loss in Denver, and the two-point defeat in L.A. still sting). However, they’ve blown a couple of easier opportunities during this tough stretch. This last game against the Thunder, and their home loss to the Pistons. Two games Houston could’ve won, or at least contests they should’ve played more competitive. Nonetheless, these are professionals, and pride has to sink in sooner or later for these Rockets. No one likes losing, and if Houston can’t claim a victory soon, this skid will start to creep up to historically bad levels. And the schedule doesn’t get any easier in a season full of unforeseen parity in the NBA. Jalen Green and the squad now travel East for road matches with the Knicks and Celtics ahead on the schedule. If the Rockets want to finally get on the right side of the score board, rotational changes are necessary on this upcoming East coast-trip.