Moments like the end of this game are why a team trades for Kevin Durant, soon to be the 6th highest scoring player in NBA history. A contested, almost double-teamed, 3pt shot with time running out. Not a good shot, but a pure one, nothing but net. Nothing but net after Durant had almost nothing but misses from three point range previously. He ended up 2-12 from deep. Maybe if he’d shot his season average of 43% the Rockets wouldn’t have been in this position. But they were, and Durant cashed the shot for the win.
This game wasn’t pretty. It showed those watching a number of things, though.
One is, the Rockets really, really, miss Alperen Sengun. It turns out 22pts/9rbs/6.5ast/1.5stl/1blk is hand to replace. A team can’t, it is evident, simply plug Steven Adams into that role and expect the same results. For all the many abilities of “The Funaki Kid” he’s not Alperen Sengun with the ball in his hands.
Two, the Rockets held a team under 100 points. True that team had played the night before in OKC, and had a delayed flight to Houston. On the other hand, the Suns won their matchup against the Thunder.
Three, the Rockets clutch offense, as has been discussed here lately, looks like crap. Yes, they won, but let me highlight some late game moments.
The Rockets had been down as many as 13pts in the third quarter. In the fourth, partly through good defense, energy and some decisive attacks from Amen Thompson, Jabari Smith finding his shot, and maybe the Suns running low on energy, the Rockets took a 94-87 lead with 6:04 remaining. Here are the next few possessions.
5:41 – Durant Bad Pass Turnover
5:25 Suns Turnover
5:03 Durant Miss
4:45 Booker 2pt fall away make. – 94-89
4:25 Amen Thompson Travel Turnover
4:16 Booker miss, Suns offensive rebound, Royce O’Neill miss, Shot Clock Turnover (very good defense by the Rockets)
3:35 Adams called for foul on Booker attempt. Booker makes first FT. Misses 2nd. Suns offensive rebound. Booker 3pt make. 94-93 Rockets lead.
3:04 Rockets timeout – The Rockets need to get a play called, or organize some offense. In any case, they call timeout, after the Suns scored the last six points.
Post Timeout – Rockets lineup for inbounds. Timeout Suns.
3:04 – After two consecutive timeouts to get their play set, the Rocket try to force a pass into Kevin Durant, guess where? That’s right, at the top of the arc. Amen Thompson turnover.
2:54 Dillon Brooks fall away jumper make off the Rockets inbounds post timeout turnover, 95-94 Suns lead.
Let’s consider those last actions. The Rockets could not inbound the ball at midcourt after not one, but two consecutive timeouts. Did anyone in the building or who watches the Rockets often, think the Rockets would attempt something, anything, else? If they did, they were wrong. Houston surrendered their lead because the Suns jumped the pass the former Rockets, Brooks, knew was coming.
Booker would make two more free throws, after a pretty grifty drive at 2:12. At 1:59 Amen Thompson would make a 2ft shot and get a foul call to tie the game. Amen would then miss what looked like a gimme, after a spectacular move at 40.4 seconds left.
With the game tied, and some more spectacular defense from the Rockets, getting another shot clock violation on the Suns, came the Suns game winning attempt from who else, Booker. Credit here to Tari Eason who defended Devin Booker perfectly as he dribbled away the clock in Hardenesque fashion. Booker, with the seconds ticking down, drove at Tari, only he wasn’t rewarded with a foul. Booker shot a 20ft fade away with the clock running down, but Eason stayed out of Booker’s “Grift Radius” when he drives his shoulder or body into contact with a retreating defender and immediately shoots something resembling a basketball shot attempt. Moreover, Tari not only fell back from the foul drawing attempt, he then challenged the ensuing shot without fouling Booker. He didn’t foul Booker so much that even Devin Booker couldn’t complain about the miss. He just missed.
5 seconds left. Rockets timeout. This time they DO get the ball to Durant, on the wing, rather than straight up on the 3pt arc. KD rises over two defenders (maybe one and a half), shoots, and it looked perfect the moment it left his hand. 100-97 Rockets.
The Suns still had life with 1.1 left, and a timeout. Josh Okogie breaks up the Suns inbounds pass and the game ends.
I’m happy for this victory, but the offense, when the going gets tough, still looks like crap. Moreover, it looks to have literally no ideas as to what to do besides “Kevin/Alpie/Amen SAVE US with something spectacular!”
Tonight, they got something spectacular, and got the win. On the bright side, the Rockets are 11-2 at home. They’ve played their other 20 games on the road. A careful look at NBA scheduling will reveal that this home/road imbalance must even out. The Rockets are in fact, due. Due some home games. But not anytime soon!
Stop here, avoid the rant.
The defense wasn’t the problem – they held the Suns to 37 points. In the second half. It should have been easy. It wasn’t, because the Rockets only scored 46 points in the second half.
I believe, despite nice looking offensive ratings and so forth, the Rockets utter destitution of ideas on offense, their brutally inept clutch execution, this Udokan offensive travesty, is going to be a problem, especially in the playoffs. Maybe it will be their downfall. Again. There’s no Jalen Green to blame this time. It’s the job of the coaches to make the opponent’s offense difficult, not their own team’s. The Rockets replaced Jalen Green with Kevin Durant and their clutch offense remains exactly the same as it was last season. They were fortunate to get this win. I’ll take it, and the ending was cool, but there was no need for a cool ending, if the Rockets could execute late game offense.
