With seven games left in the regular season, the Houston Rockets have hit a bit of a setback. While once just a game back of the Golden State Warriors for the final NBA Play-In Tournament spot, that margin is now up to three thanks to consecutive losses against the Dallas Mavericks and Minnesota Timberwolves.
To make matters worse, the Warriors just beat the Mavericks and have won the last five games. During the Rockets' 11-game winning streak, they knew there was no margin for error and had full determination of their fate. Now with two straight losses, making the play-in will take a miracle.
Luka Doncic unloads on Rockets
The matchup against the Mavericks was virtually unwinnable. On a sore knee, Luka Doncic exploded with a scoring frenzy, tallying 22 points in the first quarter alone. Doncic finished the game with 47 points while hitting 60% of his shots, including 9-of-16 from deep in just three quarters. In addition, the perennial MVP candidate dished 12 assists and seven rebounds.
It wasn't until halfway through the third quarter that Houston decided to blitz Doncic. Prior to that, they believed playing him one-on-one would do the trick. Neither plan worked, as Kyrie Irving and the rest of the supporting cast relentlessly knocked down threes at an unbelievable pace.
Compared to the Rockets' 34.2% on threes, the Mavericks shot 51% from downtown, numerically identical to their overall field goal percentage.
Rockets rely on Jalen Green
Moreover, Dallas seemed completely aware of Jalen Green's latest performances. Every time he had the ball in his hands, head coach Jason Kidd inserted double teams every time he got close to the three-point line. It was especially apparent when Green brought the ball up from midcourt.
The recent Western Conference Player off the Week had a hard time getting into any sort of rhythm, scoring just 12 points on 5-of-15 shooting without a made three-pointer. Green and Fred VanVleet combined for just 22 points. Jabari Smith Jr. had 28, but most of his scoring occurred in garbage time.
Green was the Rockets' savior during the bulk of the 11-game winning streak. When he's struggling, there's hardly any option, especially when Alperen Sengun and Tari Eason are out. VanVleet is capable of getting the rest of the squad going, but if they aren't making shots either, it becomes more difficult to find a silver lining.
Three-point shooting woes
The loss to Minnesota highlighted a different issue: three-point shooting. After holding the Wolves to 16 points in the first quarter, Minnesota exploded for 38 points to lead by nine at the half. The Rockets had no answer on offense and were just 5-of-22 from three-point range, with most of them being wide open. These issues harkened back to January and February, when Houston ranked 28th in three-point percentage.
It wasn't until the fourth quarter where the Rockets' offense finally woke up. Suddenly, they hit 7-of-15 shots from deep and notched a 54.1% field goal mark. Green and VanVleet finished with 26 and 22 points, respectively, but it wasn't enough. Houston got within three points of taking the lead, but failed to follow through in the final minutes. Costly turnovers from the backcourt led to the Wolves being able to hold on for the win.
If the Rockets had made their wide-open threes, this would have been a much different outcome.
“We didn’t hit threes like we normally do, and I think that killed us,” Green said, reflecting on the game.
Playoff atmosphere
It couldn't be more ironic that the Rockets take on Stephen Curry and the 10th-seeded Warriors on Thursday night at the Toyota Center. Regardless of the setback, expect Houston to play with a playoff mindset. The Warriors own the tiebreaker, so even if the Rockets went on another Cinderella run, they'd need to outperform Golden State to the end of the regular season to even qualify for the final play-in slot.
“It doesn’t really matter for us,” VanVleet said, on the brevity of play-in hopes. “We have to win out anyway. So you know, approach every game in a win-now, playoff mode (as we have) since the break. I want to continue to play that way coming down the stretch. This is a lesson and a good experience for this group to play games that matter and to understand the value — a possession, a quarter, a game. Give ourselves another streak and see what happens.”
Draymond Green pokes the bear
The Warriors are certainly ready for the challenge, especially forward Draymond Green. In the latest edition of The Draymond Green Show, Green was very candid about his thoughts facing the Rockets on Thursday night:
“Really big time win for us, especially with the Rockets coming out to play…Tomorrow will be an opportunity to end their [the Rockets] season.”
Green's remark about the Rockets “coming out to play” seemed like he downplays the Rockets as a team and he believes the Warriors will put them out of their misery. If you asked Rockets fans what they would wish for, especially after hearing Green's words, they'd surely wish the Rockets to beat the Warriors. Even if Houston's play-in hopes are cloudy because of the recent setback, beating Golden State would be music to their ears.
Follow Us
Subscribe