‘Too much up and down’ at root of losses
Team seeking to cure ills of slow starts, intensity lulls during two-game road trip
CLEVELAND — As much as the Rockets’ issues have been the typical sort in a long NBA season, they know they need to be addressed. Talking about them is just a start.
“There’s been too much up and down,” center Clint Capela said. “Some games we should have won, we didn’t because of that. We’re trying to get better at it. I’m sure we will.”
There have been spurts that demonstrated potential, but after the Rockets’ lost to the Kings on Monday, they returned to the familiar lament about starting slowly and failing to maintain the necessary intensity.
With aspirations considerably greater than maintaining a spot in the middle of the Western Conference playoff pack, the Rockets have split their last 10 games. They blew doubledigit leads in two of their last four, losing to teams — the Spurs and Kings — struggling to reach .500.
There has been progress in many ways since the Rockets struggled early in the season to
beat the Thunder, Pelicans and Wizards, but “too much up and down” has continued to get in the way.
“I think every team goes through that,” forward P.J. Tucker said. “At some point, you’ve got to make mistakes. It’s (about) when you make them, how you make them. But every team makes mistakes.
“We want to win every single night. Our focus level has to be high every night. We get everybody’s best shot, no matter what. Teams that don’t shoot well shoot well against us. Teams that don’t make free throws make free throws against us. That’s just how it is. It’s something we expect.
It’s something that takes super, super, super focus to be able to win.”
There is something to the notion that the Rockets, with signature stars and contender status in recent years, will get teams’ best shots. But they’re insistent about concerning themselves only with their play, rather than their opponents, as they try to perform more steadily and build a winning streak.
“You’ve got to be consistent on that part and take ownership in yourself,” guard Russell Westbrook said after Monday’s 119-118 loss to Sacramento. “I can do the best that I can making sure that we try to keep our pace, but I think collectively we’ve got to be able to look ourselves in the mirror and figure out how we can be able to bring it every single night and be responsible for our own actions and then look elsewhere.”
If the recent losses did not bring reminders of that, the two-game road trip beginning Wednesday at Cleveland could offer evidence of the danger of taking opponents lightly. Last season, the Rockets lost to their next three opponents — the Cavaliers, Magic and Pistons — when each was well below .500.
“From last year, we know that,” Capela said. “Definitely games like this, when you know not a lot of attention (is) on that game, it’s not big, this kind of game, you lose your focus. You lead (and) it seems like you are going to control the game. But it’s not. They’re coming back because
you’re making multiple mistakes. We’re up 10, but within two minutes, they are getting three open shots, and they’re back in the game.
“This is that kind of game, the kind of trick game, we have to stay in. We have to show character in those kinds of games.”
Capela could have been describing Monday’s loss, and even several of this season’s wins, as much as last season’s losses to the Rockets’ next three opponents.
“We can just do a better job,” he said. “I think we’re mature enough. We’re a good team. We should be able to keep that lead. Defensively, be more engaged during the game. Sometimes we are not staying focused. We give up shots we should not.
“Sometimes the energy’s not there. We maybe (need to) talk more, have that togetherness to have that energy. We have to stay focused all game just by talking or showing that we are engaged.”
There are teams that don’t fall into those traps. The Lakers and Bucks have been rolling this season, with few letups serious enough to lead to losses. The Rockets were that team in 2017-18 when they crushed opponents through the first half of a 65win season. The Warriors were even more dominant the previous season.
Most teams, however, go through stretches when they struggle to remain at their peak. It might only seem to be coming up for the Rockets more often this season.
“Yeah, but to be completely honest, probably talked about it last year, the year before, the 20 years I’ve been coaching,” Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said. “We always talk about it. That’s what it comes down to. You impose your will instead of them imposing it on you. You get tired or lackadaisical or a lack of concentration. It’s a normal NBA season. You try to guard against it. You bring it up. You try to beat the message into their heads.
“But overall, they’re good. They’re good professionals, try to do the right thing. Sometimes they get … napping a little bit. You try to avoid that.”