The Rockets are now 10-4, having lost to Denver in their third NBA Cup game. This probably will keep them from advancing in Group C, the Group of Death in the Western Conference. Since nearly everyone professes not to care about The NBA Cup, I’ll just say it’s better to win things than lose them, and the NBA Cup is in fact an actual competition with something to win. Maybe people don’t generally value it very much right now, but give it time. At one time people didn’t value the NBA all that much, and look where it’s ended up.
In addition to being an NBA Cup game, with a chance to win a very respectable retired racing falcon from the UAE, it was also an NBA regular season game. The Rockets lost it by three. Their four losses this season have been by 1 point (Thunder), 4 points (Pistons), 11 points (Spurs), and 3 points to Denver, tonight.
Like all but perhaps the Spurs game, it was a game the Rockets could have, and perhaps should have, won. More remarkable in this case was that the Rockets were in it, and even lead it at all.
First the Rockets started dismally. They made almost no shots in the first quarter. Some shots were bad, many were open, and good shots, ones you’d want someone to take. They made very few. How few? They scored 12 points in the first quarter to Denver’s 25. Twelve. This for what has been a top ranked offense in the NBA. The defensive performance was decent, and Denver missed some easy looks, too.
Then Ime Udoka put in Reed Sheppard. It sounds like nothing much, but it turned the game around. The Rockets went from scoring a dozen points to a bit over three dozen. They went into the half with a three point lead on Denver. They’d lose the third by five, and the fourth by one point. They might have won the game, there were many lead changes, and the Rockets had chances late. Those chances were marred somewhat by Reed Sheppard, who had 27 points in 37 minutes, missing two of three free throws late. Reed needs to stop deferring to Durant and Sengun, especially when he’s hot like tonight. Durant and Sengun need to look for Reed more. Reed needs to stop gambling so much on defense. He’s still not connected up to the defensive scheme, but he’s improving, guarding better straight up.
But Reed (9-13) wasn’t really the source of the Rockets troubles. These came from Sengun, Durant, Jabari and Amen. Durant was 5-14 with two turnovers, and more hopeless passes and dribble attacks. Sengun was 6-15, with some truly awful turnovers, and what seemed like fairly obvious pressing to perhaps prove something against Jokic. What he proved was that he needs to quit attacking double and triple teams, pass out to open teammates, and generally calm down. He had six assists, and five turnovers, many of them dispiriting.
Jabari was 7-20, despite many of those looks being close, and open, he just didn’t drain them. Amen Thompson was 10-18, but two makes were more or less desperation three point attempts very late. Right now Amen as point guard is showing real limitations. The Rockets could use him causing havoc from the dunkers spot more often, and ending being neither great attacker, nor great distributor quite so much. His best passing comes from his attacks, which he’s not doing decisively right now. He’s really not the guy to survey the court from the top of the arc right now. He might be one day, but that day doesn’t seem close at hand right now.
Really, though, the problem came from the Rockets two main offensive engines, Sengun and Durant, going one on one, and creating from there. Or in the case of tonight’s combined 10-29 showing, not creating, and combining for 7 generally awful turnovers.
I’ll make my joke about Ime finally having his dream, a high scoring offense that still runs no plays, makes nothing easy for anyone, and spends a lot of time looking broken. Part of the problem is having a bunch of forwards and bigs initiating the offense pretty much all the time. The only answer to that is more Reed, right now, with Aaron Holiday shifting to the Reed role, and Reed starting. It might help start fewer games in a hole, or with a disaster quarter tonight, where scoring a measly 20 points instead of 12, is a win.
This is a game the Rockets lost while generally not playing well, and they really could have won it. This, despite the loss, is a good sign for a bad night.
One day Alpie (still only 21) might be the sort of calm initiator that Jokic is, but not yet. The Nuggets are better than the Rockets. For now. And not by much.
The dream of The Falcon might be dead, but the dream of a great season and deep playoff run remains very much alive.
PS – I do have to ask, what exactly is Steven Adams, stationary, hands at his sides, straight up, supposed to do when Jokic leans into him, throws his arms up, and shoots free throws? Is Adams supposed to teleport away? Fall down? Wave a red cape and let Jokic by? Simply not be anywhere near Jokic? Just not be on the court? What’s the correct defensive play there?
