Second-half reversal benefits both teams
Thanks to a sluggish second half, the Rockets had plenty of ground to cover in Tuesday’s video session and practice. But if there were areas to correct first, they cited the turnovers that led to transition baskets, and transition defense in general.
The Rockets had 10 secondhalf turnovers in Sunday’s 110-96 victory, leading to 16 Utah points. The Jazz made 8 of 9 attempts in transition in the second half after taking just three shots (making two) on fast breaks in the first half.
“We didn’t get back in transition,” coach Mike D’Antoni said. “We turned the ball over. Our offense and defense is connected. We keep them in the halfcourt, our defense is pretty good. That means we can run out more and our transition is great.
“If we turn it over and they’re running out, that means we’re attacking against their halfcourt defense, which they’re really good at. And our halfcourt offense is less than our transition. It’s kind of connected. We try to correct that.”
The Rockets can benefit from those second-half difficulties if only to keep them grounded, something that was an issue after opening an early 27-point lead. But the success in the second half also could help the Jazz.
“It’s good that we won while we struggled,” Rockets forward Luc Mbah a Moute said. “In a way, it is (helpful). It is also good for them. They did a good job in the second half. We didn’t play our best. We turned the ball over. They made some key stops. We didn’t score the ball as well as we did in the first half. I think they have something they can look forward to. For us, as well.
“We feel like, ‘Hey, we played well in the first half. We know what we need to do.’ We didn’t do that in the second half. Now, come back, try to do everything we did in the first half for the rest of the series. We have the formula. We know our faults. We know what we need to correct. It’s good for us.”
Jazz sure to improve their play in Game 2
Though the Rockets led by as many as 27 points in Game 1 against Utah on Sunday, they expect a much tougher challenge in the second game, citing the two days off the Jazz have had to prepare and recuperate from a quick turnaround following their previous series.
“I think they’re going to play with a lot more energy,” Rockets forward Trevor Ariza said. “There’s more time between games for them. They got time to go back and study film, study how we played them, what they did well.”
Coach Mike D’Antoni also said the Jazz are a better team than they showed in Sunday’s first half.
“They’re really good,” D’Antoni said. “Obviously ( Ricky) Rubio not being there has hurt them, but they’re good. They had the second-best record after a certain period (the Jazz were tied with the 76ers at 31-10 in the second half of their schedule, trailing only the Rockets’ 35-6 second-half record). Donovan Mitchell is ridiculous. He’s turned into one of the best players in the league.
“We know we’ll get the best from them. It’s a series. It can go back and forth, a lot of twists and turns against a good team. We’ll face whatever we have to face.”
Mitchell takes time to play role as a fan
Despite emerging as one of the best players in the NBA in his first year out of Louisville,
Donovan Mitchell sometimes forgets he’s a professional athlete.
But for a few hours Monday, as a fan in the stands at Minute Maid Park, he remembered.
“I’m a big baseball guy,” said Mitchell, who caught the Astros-Yankees game with teammates Royce O’Neale, Ricky Rubio, Dante Exum and David Stockton.
“It was pretty cool to go in there and see those guys. I know a few guys on the Yankees, so it’s pretty cool to just be a part of that and to watch the game as a fan. I hadn’t really been able to watch any games as a fan in a long time.”
For now, he enjoys being inconspicuous enough to sit among the fans.
“James (Harden) was in the upper deck, so he definitely wouldn’t be able to sit behind home plate,” he said.
Mitchell cherishes moments like this. It’s a part of enjoying the smaller experiences through life.
“The biggest thing for me when I went to the game was, man, I always looked up to these baseball players because they’re in the majors. But when I look at it, I’m in the major league of my sport, too, and that’s the stuff that kind of hits you,” he said. “It’s surreal.”