HOUSTON – Work has still yet to be done. Facing the NBA's best team in the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Houston Rockets failed to matchup accordingly, falling in a blowout loss, 122-95.

Facing Minnesota without two of Houston's best defenders in Tari Eason and Dillon Brooks wasn't going to be easy to begin with. Even so, the effort wasn't there on the offensive end. When the Rockets struggle on offense, defense is their only upside. But when the defense isn't clicking as well, things quickly unravel like a stampede.

Rockets' shaky defense

Brooks and Eason not being able to play immediately addressed this issue. Players like Anthony Edwards and Karl Anthony-Towns had their way, especially at the rim. While they combined for 46 points, the Wolves as a team took complete advantage inside, scoring a whopping 60 points in the paint. They were also electric from the perimeter, shooting 14-of-33, attune to 42.4%. On the plus minus side, Minnesota was a +27 compared to Houston's -27.

Rudy Gobert was as dominant on the boards as ever, notching 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting and 12 rebounds, a double-double that included two steals and two blocks.

In short, Minnesota's 25-9 record further solidifies why they are the best team on both ends in the NBA right now, per si.com.

“I don’t really know if it was our lack of scoring or quality shots,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said. “I think they bullied us. It may not have anything to do with our offense, but I thought it was our poorest game from the standpoint of matching physicality and competitiveness and toughness tonight.”

Main core cools off

It wasn't just the defense that fell off a cliff. The offense, against Minnesota's number one defense, couldn't score more than 26 points in a quarter. After seven straight games of 20+ points with 60% shooting, Alperen Sengun cooled off a bit, with 19 points and five rebounds. He did start off hot hitting four of his five shots, but came back down to earth in the second quarter, not registering a field goal. His reliable pick and roll mate, Fred VanVleet, also had a quiet game, scoring just seven points on 2-of-9 shooting and eight assists.

Jalen Green was Houston's leading scorer with 20 points but was an inefficient 7-of-16. While Jabari Smith Jr. had a respectable stat line of sixteen points with 3-of-5 shooting beyond the arc and nine boards, he turned the ball over four times. Aside from his efficiency, the Rockets as a team just missed open shots.

Fan favorite Cam Whitmore did score in double figures again with eleven points, but turned over the ball four times in just 15 minutes of play.

The Rockets as a whole shot just 40.3% from the field and turned the ball over 15 times, with 10 of them occurring in the first half. This led to the Wolves scoring 20 total fast break points.

Right now, against contending teams, there is a clear gap compared to the rest of the league where Houston is usually better suited to play against. Aside from exceptional matchups against the two seeded Oklahoma City Thunder and the three seeded Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference, the Rockets are struggling matching up against other suitors.

Houston needs a backup center

This game, in particular, provides another reason why Houston needs to go out and get a reliable backup center. To have a 6'4 small forward in Jae'Sean Tate guarding KAT lies the very problem.

Initially, they had accomplished this task, but the signing has ended up backfiring. Jock Landale is a complete liability on the floor and cannot integrate himself in Udoka's offense. His days as a Rocket should be numbered. The fact that the Rockets hardly have an answer to guard the opponent bigs when Sengun goes to the bench is a major issue.

Prior to this homestand, the Rockets were one of the best home teams in the NBA. They now have a forgettable 2-4 record on this seven-game homestand with the final matchup against the two seeded Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday night in a back-to-back. This will be the second matchup against the Bucks following a loss on their home floor in Milwaukee. At Friday's pre-game press conference, Udoka expressed hope that Tari Eason would return against the Bucks game Saturday night and further added Eason's absence against the Wolves was due to the back-to-back schedule.

If the same effort exhibited Friday night follows into Saturday, expect a world of hurt for the Rockets.