Sloppy Second Quarter Dooms Rockets in 129-117 Loss to Wolves
Second Seizures. Turkish Takeover. Rough Road Travelled.
Houston trailed by only six points after the first quarter Saturday night. Unfortunately, a dismal second quarter put the Rockets away for good, as the Wolves dominated the game en route to dealing Houston a 129-117 defeat. The Rockets have now lost six consecutive games. They’ll have their best chance to break the streak when they travel to Orlando to face the subpar Magic on Monday night.
If there’s been one constant to start this season, it’s the play of Alperen Sengun. Whether Sengun comes off the bench, starts, or gets less than 20 minutes, he’s always extremely efficient and effective on the floor. Coach Stephen Silas needs to officially declare Sengun as their starting center. He’s only 20, and has poise beyond his years. Jalen Green will be a superstar in this league one day, but it’s not a stretch to say, at this current moment in time, Sengun is Houston’s best offensive player. Al-P finished with 17 points, 7 boards, and 5 assists, registering another efficient evening in the books. Jalen Green led the Rockets with 21 points, but the sophomore stud is still tinkering with his stroke, searching to regain his shooting rhythm.
It’s been a rough road for Houston to begin the season. Only 3 of the Rockets’ first ten games have been at Toyota Center. And the 7 road games have been against playoff-caliber competition. Up next, Houston travels to Orlando, the worst teams in Eastern conference record-wise. It’s also the first time Houston will get to see the player they wanted to draft: Paolo Banchero. Hopefully, the Rockets can end the skid, and slow Banchero, who at the moment is the clear front-runner for Rookie of the Year. Houston’s back at it on the 7th of this month, as they try to avoid a dreaded 7-game losing streak.