Ime Udoka’s Houston Rockets face a huge problem: Winning on the road. The team's early season vigor, marked by a 6-3 start, is now overshadowed by their struggles away from home. Houston's overall record stands at 6-6, with five of those losses coming on the road. Their road struggles–including a defeat to the Los Angeles Clippers, resulting in a 1-1 standing in the Group Round of the NBA In-Season Tournament–pushed them down to the eighth seed in the Western Conference
Despite the losses, each game was tightly contested, with two decided by no more than six points. All three games came down to the final possessions. If the pendulum swung in Houston's favor by a missed shot or a defensive stop, then we’d be talking about a completely different topic.
Houston faces powerhouses in the Denver Nuggets on November 24th and the Dallas Mavericks on November 28th as their final matchups of the Group Round for a chance to advance to the Knockout Round of the NBA In-Season Tournament, also known as the NBA Cup.
Jalen Green fails to live up to expectations once again
So, what’s going on with their recent mishaps after winning six straight games? One could point to Jalen Green. Expected to be a star in the making, Green continues to disappoint. The former 2nd overall pick has just about the same offensive numbers as the last two seasons with a slight decrease in points per game. This is due to him playing mostly off the ball.
In Stephen Silas’ system, he played Green to receive the most touches and play more isolation basketball. In 2022-23, Green averaged 22.1 points per game on 41.7 percent shooting, and 33.8 percent from the arc–and that's all based on the high touches and the usage rate he was given under Silas.
With Udoka now at the helm, Green scores off the ball, and it's been awful. His 39.5 percent field goal percentage on 14.3 attempts is a career-low. The last four games have been rock bottom, shooting 30 percent on catch and shoot and 14.3 percent off the dribble, with an efficient field goal percentage of 19 percent. His pull-up shots are supposed to be his bread and butter, which was precisely the reason why Rafael Stone drafted him in 2021. While he shoots the ball poorly, his involvement in team defense has improved, with a +3.1 plus minus.
Ime Udoka benches Green down the stretch
Still, it's not why he's on the court. The offensive distribution is surely needed from Green in order to have an edge in those close possessions against playoff-level teams. If it only comes from Fred VanVleet, Dillon Brooks, and Alperen Sengun, the Rockets are in for a huge wakeup call. This is illustrated by Udoka benching Green for the entire fourth quarter in their recent loss against the Golden State Warriors.
“The group that was in was playing better,” Udoka said.
It's never a good thing to see one of your primary scorers get benched down the stretch, but Udoka makes it known he won’t tolerate poor playing and will hold his guys accountable.
Interior defense an issue for the Rockets
Another issue with the Rockets is consistent defense in the interior. Udoka's primary defensive game plan is to prevent opponents from finding a lane to reach the interior. What happens when that doesn't work? The answer to this lies in Houston's play against Golden State. Steve Kerr's squad had full reign on the perimeter, knocking down three after three. Houston surrendered a total of 21 triples and 33 free-throw attempts, reminiscent of their prior disastrous defense a season ago.
Speaking of the interior, there's been issues with a reliable big man to back up Alperen Sengun. The Rockets have a minus 40 point differential when Sengun is off the court.
Expected back up big in Jock Landale has been a disaster from the start, gradually receiving shortened minutes since his appearance against the Charlotte Hornets. His fit on the Rockets hasn’t panned out, especially when defending the interior and spacing the floor. It's been so bad that the 6-foot-8 and 37-year-old veteran Jeff Green has been propped up to take over Sengun’s back up center minutes.
Not to say Uncle Jeff has played badly either, but he's no true center. Houston will need to find a way to acquire a capable center in the trade market to offset the massive point differential when Alpie is on the bench.
Looking ahead for the Rockets
The Rockets have some breathing room before their next road challenge, with their upcoming game against the in-state rival Dallas Mavericks scheduled for November 28th in the final Group Round game of the In-Season Tournament. Before this crucial matchup, they have a chance to regroup during a two-game homestand, starting Wednesday against the 3-10 Memphis Grizzlies and a rematch Friday against the Nuggets. This provides a prime opportunity for Houston to snap their three-game losing streak and rebuild momentum.
Follow Us
Subscribe