Another tough road test awaits against Phoenix
PHOENIX — After perhaps their worst performance of the season, at least defensively, the Rockets get one of their toughest tests.
They expected to face a brutal stretch to open the season with 10 of their first 13 games on the road, matching the most to start a season in NBA history. They did not have any reason to think they would be as flat for a half as they were in Friday's loss in Portland when they gave up a seasonhigh 125 points.
After beginning the road trip with games against the Jazz (4-2) and Trail Blazers (5-1), the Rockets visit the 4-1 Suns, who are beginning to look more like the team that had the NBA's best record last season with each game.
While the Rockets were trying to make another comeback last in Portland, the Suns on Friday had little trouble with the shorthanded Pelicans. They have an eight-game winning streak against the Rockets with Eric Gordon and Boban Marjanovic, by far the Rockets' most experienced players, the only Rockets players to have ever beaten the Suns.
Gordon, however, is out with the game the first in a back-to-back, and Marjanovic is out of the rotation with Alperen Sengun back.
Looking for their first road win of the season, the Rockets have a way to go to reach last season's 0-11 start on the road. But as they play the first game of a back-to-back, things get no easier. The Suns are 4-0 at home.
1. Isolated incident?
The Rockets had their worst defensive game of the season on Friday, giving up 125 points on 53.3 percent shooting to a Trail Blazers team playing without Damian Lillard. But the defense has generally been better than last season.
The Rockets, last in the NBA defensively last season, rank 23rd this season even after Friday's struggles. Teams are shooting much too well against them, making 47.1 percent of their shots, but they have allowed teams to attempt two fewer corner 3s per game, and to score fewer secondchance points and points off turnovers.
The Suns will test that, but also offer an opportunity to show if Friday's first half was an aberration.
2. Get Green going
Jalen Green began the road trip making 46.1 percent of his shots, 48.1 percent on 3s. In the first two games of the road trip, however, he made just 10 of 39 shots, 4 of 19 3s.
Green remains the Rockets leading scorer, averaging 20.7 points per game. But teams will make defending him their top priority.
Against the Suns, that could mean a matchup with Mikal Bridges, among the NBA's best perimeter defenders, unless the Suns keep Devin Booker on Green. Either way, the Rockets will have a tough time unless Green does.
3. Protect the paint
The Rockets on Friday allowed 66 points in the paint on 64 percent shooting. Some of that was from Jusuf Nurkic scoring easily inside, where he made 11 of 16 shots (adding a 3-pointer for good measure.)
The Suns scored 60 points in the paint on Friday even with center Deandre Ayton going out in the first quarter with a sprained left ankle after he stepped on Jonas Valanciunas' foot. He will miss at least a week.
The Suns average 54.8 points in the paint in the NBA, fifth-most in the league. The Rockets have allowed 57 points in the paint this season, more than all but two teams.
4. Chemistry test
The Rockets have used five different starting lineups in their six games. They are nearly certain to start a sixth with Gordon out and Jabari Smith Jr. questionable with a sprained right ankle.
Bruno Fernando started the first two games before going out with a knee injury. Sengun was likely to start in the fourth game but missed a pair of games with an illness.
Sengun said he had no issues coming back from the illness, and put up his typical numbers this season, 14 points and 11 rebounds while matching his career high with three blocked shots.
After using 24 starting lineups last season, they are on pace to break their record for lineup changes when they used 43 lineups in a 72-game season in 2020-21. They'd like to have some consistency with their rotation, or at least stay healthy enough to have that option.
Instead, the Rockets will not have the same lineup in a second-consecutive game until Wednesday, at the soonest
5. Keep it close
As admirable as it might be that the Rockets have repeatedly fought back from large deficits, it's not a formula to turn things around.
They rallied from down 19 to within two against the Jazz and from down 18 to within five against the Trail Blazers. They lost both games. The Rockets have faced double-digit deficits in five of their six games.
The one game in which they did not trail by at least 10 points was when the largest Utah lead was just one point at Toyota Center. That was also the Rockets' lone win.