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Houston Rockets guard Jalen Green, center, is helped by fans after falling into photographers after a play against the Portland Trail Blazers during the first half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Dec. 17, 2022, in Houston. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)
Michael Wyke/Associated Press
The Rockets have suffered back-to-back losses at the hands of the Heat and the Trail Blazers, two teams bearing two significant similarities — namely, zone defenses, and elite shooters by the names of Tyler Herro and Damian Lillard. Neither were the biggest culprit in the Rockets’ downfalls.
Following Saturday’s 107-95 loss to Portland, as they had done two days earlier, the Rockets again lamented a lack of energy.
This time the drop was in the second half, when the Rockets shot 39 percent, 16.7 percent on 3-pointers, and were held to 14 points in the third quarter. Meanwhile, the Blazers shot 46.3 percent and made eight triples.
“We were just playing streetball out there,” guard Jalen Green said. “We weren’t playing together no more. We didn’t have no fight. Yeah, just an energy drop.”
The contrast was all the more stark given that before they played the Heat on Thursday, the Rockets beat two title contenders in consecutive defensive-minded wins over the Bucks and Suns. What was the difference?
“Just a mindset of wanting to come out and win. I don’t think it’s been there these last few games,” Green said. “I think we got complacent and just happy with those two wins, but we got to learn from that.”
The Rockets have one practice on Sunday to regroup before a rematch on Monday against the Spurs, who blew the Rockets out due to a second-half fizzle in San Antonio earlier this month. But Green wasn’t sure that addressing the Rockets’ energy issues would be as easy or quick a fix as changing a car’s oil.
“You can’t really work on bringing energy to a game. It’s kind of just a mindset,” he said. “Everyone got to be on the same page. But one thing we can work on is our 3s. They did not fall today.”
The Rockets shot a season-worst 10.3 percent on 3-pointers against the Blazers, which was also the Rockets’ all-time second-lowest 3-point percentage with at least 29 attempts (following a 3-of-35 mark against New Orleans on March 2, 2016).
The Rockets created good looks from the perimeter in the first half, but couldn’t get shots to fall. In the second half, the lack of side-to-side ball movement in particular precipitated bad shots.
“(In the first half) we’re crashing the boards and keep staying in the game because our shot quality was good and we were crashing the offensive glass,” Rockets coach Stephen Silas said. “I mean, you’re gonna have nights where you don’t make shots. But the ball movement just has to be better.”
Green agreed.
“You just said it. That ball is just stagnant,” he said. “I think we’re playing our best when we’re moving the ball, get the defense shifting and then make our attack. Or just locking up on defense and getting in transition.”
But Houston’s outside shooting has also been cratering for weeks. The Rockets made fewer than 28 percent of their 3-pointers in three of their last four games, and fewer than 30 percent in five of their last nine. In the month of December, they are shooting a league-worst 26.6 percent from deep.
Energy returned for a few minutes very late in the game, when the Rockets bench surged to cut the deficit from 20 points to 11. But by then, time literally ran out.
“There’s ups and downs to a season. We’re young. We’re just learning how to play with each other right now, to be honest,” said rookie forward Tari Eason, who scored nine of his 13 points in the fourth quarter. “And I think just going back, looking at film, staying together is gonna help us come throughout the season.”