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The Houston Rockets' biggest question mark heading into their first-round series against the Golden State Warriors was their halfcourt offense. And in Game 1, this weakness of theirs came back to haunt them, as they shot just 39.1 percent from the field as a team in a 95-85 loss to the Warriors. Even their 16-rebound advantage on the offensive glass wasn't enough to make up for their lack of scoring efficiency as a unit.
Outside of Alperen Sengun, the Rockets didn't have much going in the way of offense. It's going to be hard for any team to win a game if their starting backcourt shoots a combined 7-34 from the field, with Fred VanVleet and Jalen Green building a house of bricks with each miss that clangs off the rim.
Head coach Ime Udoka, however, is not about to lose his composure just because a poor shooting night led to a disheartening Game 1 loss for the higher-seeded Rockets.
“Some guys did struggle offensively. Not going to overreact to one game,” Udoka said in his postgame presser, according to Will Kunkel of FOX26Houston.
There is always a feeling-out process that happens in the first game of a seven-game playoff series, and the worst thing any team can do is overreact when things don't go their way. The first team to four wins advances, so while it matters a bit as to which team wins Game 1, it's not the end of the world if they don't.
Perhaps there is some positive regression on the way for the likes of VanVleet and Green, which should bode well for the Rockets. After all, they did just lose by 10 points even with the disparity in scoring efficiency between the two sides on the night. But there is a sense of urgency for them to figure it out, as they will not want to head out on the road down 2-0 in the series.
Rockets post shooting splits of 39/20/55 in Game 1 loss to Warriors
There is little margin for error when it comes to facing a team with as much playoff experience as this Golden State Warriors side does. While the effort on defense and on the glass was there for the Rockets, basketball is still won by the team that scores more than the opposition, and they couldn't throw one into the ocean on Sunday night if they tried.
This series will be a good exercise for the Rockets as to whether or not they must pursue multiple offensive upgrades in the offseason.
