Schedule offers a chance to recover after struggles
Tempted as he might have been to plan practice drills and video sessions, Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni knew better.
He gave his players Saturday off as he does on the day after a back-to-back, but he also instructed them to stay out of the gym on Super Bowl Sunday.
They need the break. That is not, however, all they need.
Their hope is that rest will lead to repairs and a revival.
“We’re still not sharp at all,” D’Antoni said. “We shot the ball OK (on Friday). We can do better. We’ll have three days between (Friday’s) game and the next game and hopefully our legs will start regenerating a little bit and get back where we were.”
The Rockets left Toyota Center on Friday night having played more games than any team, as many as six more than several top teams. Fatigue has appeared in recent weeks. But it is the cause of other issues? There have been shortcomings that will need to be corrected even if fresh legs make shots fall and minds sharper.
Most conspicuously, the Rockets’ defense has slipped markedly. The Rockets had the fifth-rated defense in points allowed per 100 possessions in December. It has been the 14th-rated defense since.
Less obviously, the offense has declined, too, ranking 15th since the end of the nine-game winning streak spanning the end December and start of January.
The Rockets have gone 6-8 in that stretch, struggling through minor injuries (Eric Gordon) and illnesses (Ryan Anderson) and shooting slumps that kept them from scoring their way past the defensive issues. ‘We’ll battle through’
They had done enough this season, however, to build the NBA’s fourthbest record even with the recent struggles and to believe they were ready get back to where they had been before hitting a wall.
“If we can regenerate a little bit of our legs and our mojo — and we will because of the schedule and this group is pretty resilient — we’ll battle through it like a lot of people,” D’Antoni said.
In the 14 games since the winning streak, James Harden has made 32.3 percent of his 3-pointers, Gordon 29.9 percent and Trevor Ariza 28.3 percent. Anderson, their other prolific range shooter, has made a solid 37.8 percent of his 3s in that stretch but just 39.1 percent of his shots overall.
The break in the schedule is so pronounced that the Rockets referred to it the way teams normally talk about the All-Star break.
“We had to get a win to start the break, to clear our mind and refresh our legs and our body,” center Clint Capela said. “This is something we can build on. This is the kind of stuff that is going to help us for the second part of the season.”
For the Rockets, the break in the schedule means not just a chance to recharge but to make corrections. The Rockets have not had a practice in more than a week and even then, it was more of a walkthrough in Philadelphia than the workouts likely this week. When they reconvene Monday, the Rockets can expect the sort of drills that had been put on hold to iron out the kinks that have developed.
“We don’t play until Tuesday; we definitely need this rest,” Gordon said. “We need to kind of regroup and do the things that’s necessary. We know we’re going to be a play- off team. We have to do the right things now to prepare for the rest of the way.” Important matchups
With just one game, Tuesday against the Orlando Magic, in a span of five days, the Rockets should have time to get back to full strength. Having games so spaced out, however, with just four until they return from the All-Star break Feb. 23 in New Orleans, makes each game especially important.
Of the Rockets’ remaining seven opponents this month, only one (Indiana) has a winning record, though three (Indiana, Miami and Minnesota) beat the Rockets in the recent slide and one (Miami) is the hottest team in the NBA.
The Rockets insist they concern themselves with how they execute and perform regardless of the opponent. After weeks trying to hang on to get to this break, they have their chance to make the necessary repairs.
“We played the most games so far of anybody,” Harden said. “It’s good for us to get some rest, relax a little bit, enjoy the weekend and be ready to go for the next game.”