Return home comes with a tough test
The Rockets on Wednesday return to Toyota Center after losing both games in a back-to-back at Milwaukee and Cleveland and will welcome a chance to get right at home.
The Rockets have an 11game winning streak in Toyota Center since dropping their home opener. But they will need to shore up the part of the game — defense — that had been their strength before allowing an average of 131.5 points on 49.5% shooting and 38.1% 3-point shooting against the Bucks and shorthanded Cavaliers.
The Hawks can test a defense, with their offense ranking sixth best in the NBA in their past five games, though they could also be shorthanded with Bogdan Bogdanovic questionable with swelling in his right ankle and with A.J. Griffin out for personal reasons.
The Rockets could get help off their injury list. Guard Amen Thompson, who missed the past four games with an illness after playing just one game coming back from a sprained ankle, was upgraded to questionable. But forward Jae’Sean Tate returned to questionable with the illness that has gone around the Rockets’ roster.
The Rockets also need their defense to get well. The Rockets still hold the NBA’s third-ranked defense but will try to reverse the slippage they experienced in the past two games on the road. For them, there is no better place to do that than at home.
Here are five things to watch Wednesday night:
Guard guards
In the past two games, the Rockets gave up 39 points to Damian Lillard and 37 to Donovan Mitchell. Against the Hawks, they face a guard averaging more points and assists than either.
Trae Young is averaging 28.1 points and 11 assists and averaged 33.5 points and nine assists against the Rockets last season. He has had four consecutive games with at least 30 points and 10 assists, the longest streak in the NBA this season or last. He has averaged 34.8 points, 13,3 assists and 4.3 rebounds, making 50% of his shots and 46.8% of his 3s in that stretch.
Young is especially effective running pick-and-roll, and no one is the ballhandler in pick-and-roll more often or scores more points per game handling in pick-androll than Young’s average of 13.4 per game. As strong as the Rockets’ defense has been in general this season, it ranks 12th in the league at defending the ballhandler in pick-and-roll and will see plenty of that from Young and Dejounte Murray.
Put the J back in Jalen
Jalen Green has found his jumper waiting for him in Toyota Center on previous occasions this season but could use the return home as much as ever to get his offense going.
In the past five games, including the first two at home, Green has averaged just 11.4 points on 28.1% shooting. Green has taken 12 shots or fewer in each of those games, the longest streak of games shooting that infrequently in his career.
The Rockets won the first three of those games and scoring was not the problem in the two losses. But Green’s 40.2% shooting and 33.1% 3point shooting this season are the worst of his three NBA seasons.
The Rockets’ second-leading scorer, Green has been their second-leading scorer among Greens in the past five games behind Jeff Green, who plays fewer minutes and takes fewer shots.
Jalen Green has contributed in other ways. In the past four games, he has averaged 4.5 assists and four rebounds. But the Rockets will need him to find his scoring touch.
Follow the leaders
Fred VanVleet, Dillon Brooks and Jeff Green were not signed as free agents just to provide guidance and have given the Rockets considerably more. But their play on the road trip could provide a good example.
VanVleet averaged 21.7 points on 46.8% shooting and 50% 3-point shooting along with 10.3 assists and an average of one turnover in the past three games. With 27 points, 17 assists, eight rebounds and two steals, he became the first Rockets player and just the seventh player since 1996-97 to collect those numbers in a game.
Brooks averaged 20 points on 52.3% shooting on the road trip. Green averaged 14.3 points in just 19.9 minutes, making 65% of his shots and 50% of his 3s.
For all that has been said about the valuable leadership of the veteran additions, after the past three games, the Rockets need more of the holdover players to follow their lead.
In the center square
Rockets center Alperen Şengün snapped a seasonlong string of four games falling short of 20 points with 20 points in Milwaukee and 24 the next night in Cleveland despite a slow start against the Cavaliers when he got into quick foul trouble.
The matchup with Clint Capela, one of his predecessors as Rockets center, could test that.
Capela has been in double figures for scoring and rebounds in each of his past three games, averaging 17.3 points on 65.7% shooting, with an average of 13.3 rebounds and three blocked shots in those games.
Şengün can counter with a reminder of Capela’s Rockets days. Şengün is second in the NBA in scoring on pickand-roll, though he finishes very differently from Capela when he was catching lobs. Şengün is more likely to catch inside and go to work, averaging 6.2 points on those plays.
Capela does not get as many touches as a rim runner
as he used to but remains effective at the rim and on the boards.
Time to run
The Rockets have throughout the season sought to pick up their pace without much success. They average just 11.9 fast-break points per game, more than only five teams. The game against the Hawks could help get more fast-break scoring.
The Hawks have allowed 16.3 fast-break points per game, the second most in the league and just 0.1 fewer than the Jazz. Unlike many parts of their offense, however, the Rockets have been less effective on the break at home, averaging just 10.8 fast-break points in Toyota Center, fewer in their home games than every team other than the halfcourt-oriented Warriors.