It was the ideal match to chain victories, really leave the victory and validate the progress. Traveling to San Antonio, which remained on 11 straight losses and which has the worst offense in the league, the Rockets had all the cards in hand to win and… they lost. They are back to square one again, and it is the fault of a huge lack of desire in defense. This does not forgive in the NBA, even against Spurs who had not won since November 11.
“One day, we will understand that the only way to win games and start a winning streak is to make defense the number 1 priority” launch Eric Gordon. “With his attack, any team can win. But when you have better defense, you get easier shots on offense. That’s when you give yourself a chance to dictate the game.”
Last night, the Rockets, and in particular the Porter Jr-Green duo, did not provide defensive withdrawal, and on placed play, they did not challenge 3-point shots. The 3rd quarter is the best example, and it’s all the more frustrating as the team had just beaten Phoenix and Philadelphia.
Misplaced smugness
“I found that we were a bit slow everywhere, especially defensively” says Rockets coach Stephen Silas. “Our preparation for this game just wasn’t what it should have been. When you’re one step behind, don’t fill gaps, come back on defense on transition play, and don’t do the essentials on defense, you’re going to lose. That’s what happened. »
What weighs down the Rockets this season is the poor start to the game. Regularly, the team begins to play when it is trailing by 10 or 12 points. But tonight, there was simply no desire, and Silas points to the sufficiency of his players. As if they had taken the Spurs high.
“Sometimes you have to do more, and I didn’t like our behavior tonight”said Silas. “I didn’t like our defensive intensity. I did not like our attention to detail. I didn’t like the way they were the aggressors, and not us. »
What about Jalen Green, whose only feat of the evening is this 3-pointer at the buzzer in the first half. On one leg. “We just lacked energy,” he defends himself. “The coach said we didn’t play from the start of the game. I think we had no energy the whole game. »
“It’s really disappointing not to be in the right places and not to make the right efforts”
For Alperen Sengun, it was a day without. “Tonight, we didn’t defend well. We weren’t focused. It was a day off. It must be forgotten. We will do better in the next game. When we defend well collectively, we win. We are not very concentrated, we lose. We have to focus on defense because everything starts with defense. »
On arrival, Houston bows, and finds the last place in its conference. The players wanted to continue, and their progress is ultimately nil.
“Going into this game with the excitement and everything we put into the game against Philadelphia, I wouldn’t say we were enough because San Antonio played well and they’re a well-coached team,” Silas concluded. “But I’m disappointed that we were a bit slower. They dominated us on one-on-one situations. They were going into corners and we didn’t close the gaps. It’s really disappointing not to be in the right places and not to make the right efforts. »
| Shots | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | bp | Int | CT | party | Points |
| Jalen Green | 24 | 34.7 | 41.5 | 31.8 | 79.6 | 0.6 | 3.3 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 3.3 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 1.8 | 21.6 |
| Kevin Porter, Jr. | 23 | 34.7 | 41.4 | 35.0 | 76.2 | 1.5 | 4.3 | 5.7 | 5.8 | 3.9 | 1.3 | 0.4 | 3.0 | 19.0 |
| Alperen Sengun | 21 | 26.8 | 55.6 | 19.0 | 79.1 | 3.4 | 5.2 | 8.6 | 2.2 | 2.3 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 3.5 | 14.9 |
| Eric Gordon | 20 | 30.1 | 43.6 | 35.2 | 86.3 | 0.3 | 1.7 | 2.0 | 2.6 | 1.9 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.8 | 12.3 |
| Jabari Smith, Jr. | 23 | 30.2 | 36.7 | 35.5 | 84.3 | 1.3 | 5.8 | 7.0 | 0.7 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 3.3 | 11.8 |
| Kj Martin | 24 | 24.5 | 54.3 | 32.4 | 69.0 | 1.5 | 3.6 | 5.1 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 1.8 | 11.0 |
| Tari Eason | 24 | 18.7 | 43.1 | 36.2 | 84.2 | 2.2 | 3.2 | 5.4 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 1.4 | 0.4 | 2.1 | 8.8 |
| Jae’sean Tate | 3 | 22.7 | 50.0 | 40.0 | 75.0 | 2.7 | 1.7 | 4.3 | 3.3 | 1.7 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 5.0 | 8.3 |
| Bruno Fernando | 8 | 13.6 | 69.0 | 0.0 | 60.0 | 1.8 | 2.6 | 4.4 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 2.0 | 5.8 |
| Garrison Mathews | 21 | 13.6 | 37.3 | 37.5 | 92.3 | 0.1 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 1.5 | 5.1 |
| Usman Garuba | 22 | 15.4 | 57.1 | 63.6 | 58.3 | 1.8 | 3.1 | 4.9 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 1.9 | 3.9 |
| Daishen Nix | 22 | 15.0 | 34.3 | 34.8 | 69.2 | 0.4 | 1.3 | 1.7 | 2.5 | 1.4 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.9 | 3.3 |
| Trevor Hudgins | 1 | 3.8 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.0 |
| Josh Christopher | 17 | 7.2 | 43.8 | 21.4 | 83.3 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.7 | 2.9 |
| Boban Marjanovic | 7 | 3.6 | 42.9 | 0.0 | 66.7 | 0.1 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 1.4 |
| Tyty Washington, Jr. | 1 | 4.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 50.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
