Most Houston Rockets fans probably didn't watch Wednesday night's season opener against the Minnesota Timberwolves all the way through, and it was justified. Unfortunately, it's likely a preview of what will happen throughout the season: young talent playing hard and having a few highlight moments, but ultimately losing due to turnovers, bad defense, and poor shooting. The Rockets competed admirably and even kept up with Minnesota for about 10 minutes before they were outscored 40-24 in the second quarter
“They were physical,” said Stephen Silas after the game. “We weren't spaced great initially. I think maybe we had some first-game jitters, which is natural, especially for a young group. So I would say there's part of that. It contributed to our turnovers and our poor execution.”
The Rockets turned the ball over a staggering 24 times on Wednesday, a mark that would easily earn them the worst turnover team in the league if they kept it up. This shouldn't be surprising as Houston is starting a 21-year-old point guard in Kevin Porter Jr., who had nine turnovers of his own. Young players are impulsive with their passing and frequently throw the ball away. Silas seemed to be more worried about Houston's lack of physicality as a contributing factor to the loss.
“I think I told [the media] earlier today that the physicality was going to be an issue that we would have to step up,” said Silas. “I think their physicality, their intention, their aggression led to some turnovers that we had early in the game and it snowballed. 38 points [off turnovers]. A lot of it was us going in thinking we got fouled and their physicality kind of affecting us as we drove. So this was a learning experience for sure. And we got to do better.”
Jalen Green got his first taste of regulation NBA basketball, scoring only nine points on 4-of-14 shooting from the field. Green said during training camp that Houston's fast pace was taking some getting used to, and he again remarked on it after the game.
“Coming into a new league, I feel like you always have something to experience,” said Green. “It’s all new — the speed of the game, the pace, the physicality. But I can’t make that an excuse because I had four preseason games to get used to already. It’s real now.”
Silas actually talked about how his team didn't run enough. The Rockets made a mini-run toward the end of the game on the backs of Josh Christopher, K.J. Martin, and a fourth-quarter unit with a lot of energy. Silas wants that energy to resonate with the rest of the group.
“We gotta get out in transition,” said Silas. “I think I called more half-court sets this game than I did in any game of the preseason. And that leads to physical play. If we're able to get stops so we can get out in transition, that's good for us.”
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Houston's half-court sets were pretty abysmal in their success rate. As Silas said, the spacing was bad (partly by design with two traditional big men) and the ball movement just wasn't where it needed to be.
“That’s the plan — to get out and run,” said Green. “But I think a lot of times when we’re not running, we got to get into our offense to get guys open. I think that’s where we struggle right now.”
Overall, though, this game came down the physicality. Houston even struggled with this in the preseason as the younger players seem to get outmuscled at every turn. They were outrebounded 46 to 41 and allowed Karl-Anthony Towns to score 30 points on 11-of-15 shooting from the field.
“Every game so far, I feel like everyone’s been trying to bump me because I’m a rookie,” said Green on the physicality of the NBA. “I’m young and they want to come at me. But that’s alright. That’s fine. I’ll take it.”
That's a healthy attitude for a rookie to have, but Green will need to get accustomed to the strength disadvantage he has right now. He'll also need to pack on more weight to his wiry frame. He's so athletic and smooth with the basketball that he'll be able to score well regardless, but additional strength will help him reach the highest echelons of the sport.
“It’s the NBA,” said Green. “I’m 19 years old. It’s not high school anymore. This is the real league — a man’s league.”
Ironically enough, it was easy for Houston to look across the court and see itself in a few years. The Timberwolves were exactly where the Rockets were for a few years. They kept their head down through the tough losses, drafted stars in Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards, and they can now start to see the light at the end of the tunnel. It will take a while before Houston can enjoy the fruits of its labor like Minnesota, but the franchise can start to emulate a similar vision.
“We’re a young team trying to figure out a lot of things,” said Green. “But that time will come. It’s gonna come together at some point. Seeing [Anthony Edwards] play tonight, he did well. There’s room for growth.”
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