Subscribe
Follow Us
Friday night's game between he Houston Rockets and the San Antonio Spurs was supposed to be great.
Kawhi Leonard was in his second game back, the Houston Rockets were on a winning streak and everyone in the basketball world wanted to know how these two Western Conference powerhouses stacked up against each other.
But instead of getting a supersayan-type battle, fans got a game that was about as fun to watch as watching grass grow. The Rockets romped through the Spurs for their 12th straight win.
In the aftermath of the loss, Spurs veteran Pau Gasol spoke about San Antonio's main issue that resulted in losing to the Rockets, per Alykhan Bijani of ESPN 975.
Article Continues Below
Communication a big theme for Spurs postgame.
Pau: “As fast as they play in transition, we have to be aware and have more discipline & communicate to each other. There were a lot of cross matches defensively, so we need to communicate in the beginning & we didn’t quite do that.”— Alykhan Bijani (@Rockets_Insider) December 16, 2017
Communication is paramount against any formidable NBA team, but especially against the Rockets. The team is so good and causes so many problems on defense that if you're not locked in defensively, it will pick you apart.
The Rockets also like to play with place and run off misses — a Mike D'Antoni staple. That creates those cross matches of which Gasol spoke. If communication breaks down in those moments, the Rockets are shooting open 3-pointers and getting easy opportunities at the rim in transition.
It's still early in the season, and the Spurs will have a few more chances against the Rockets in the regular season. The next game should be smoother sailing.
