Silver linings found in defeat
As losses pile up, club plays up signs of improvement against Mavericks
There had been many unmistakable signs of how far the Rockets had fallen from last season’s heights and this season’s expectations, but this was a new one. It was also a somewhat strained, if accurate, search for a bright side.
The Rockets had to accept that even in a loss — to a Mavericks team they led by eight with less than three minutes left — they had improved. Things had gotten so bad in the second-half collapse at Minnesota and the disaster at Utah that the latest crushing defeat, Saturday’s come-from-ahead loss at Dallas, brought relatively positive signs.
It might have been a difficult realization that the conclusion of another winless three-game road trip could represent improvement. But denial had become even more challenging. At this point, with as many losses at 11-14 as the Rockets had by March 14 of last season, any signs of progress would be welcome.
“Yeah, we played better,” guard Eric Gordon said after Saturday’s 107-104 defeat. “There’s still a learning curve for us.”
‘No other alternative’
Incredible as it might seem that things have come to “still learning” 25 games into a campaign following last season’s 65-win joyride, the Rockets reached the point that to make a move, they would have to improve in a variety of ways, leading them to decide something good could come out of a loss.
“We have to. There is no other alternative,” coach Mike D’Antoni said. “There are a bunch of professional guys in there, and they are trying to figure it out. I thought, for the most part, they did. We didn’t close it out. A little bit of them, a lot on us. Hopefully, we learn from it and do better next time.
“I think we played well. The good news out of all of this is that when we play with that intensity that long, we’ll win a lot of games.”
The Rockets are 2-7 since they seemed to have turned things around with a fivegame winning streak. There have been many issues in need of repair. Some, including offensive pace, were better Saturday. Others were not. But no improvement could be sufficient without greater fortitude.
“I think the pace was better the whole game,” D’Antoni said. “Offensively, it was moving a lot better. I think that is the No. 1 thing. Then we had a few careless turnovers in the second half. That’s a little trouble. But then we picked it back up. I just thought we never got rattled, even though we played bad in parts. Before, it would kind of shake us. We held in there.
“There were a lot of good positives. I know it was a loss, but we need to pick up from here.”
When asked what he thought had improved, guard James Harden said, “Energy. Pace. Defensively, we were helping each other out. Everything, honestly.”
Not everything. Defensive rebounding remained a huge issue, with Dallas center DeAndre Jordan getting nine offensive boards, the Mavs scoring 20 secondchance points, and the corner 3-pointer that started Luka Doncic’s late run coming after the Rockets got a stop but failed to secure the rebound.
The turnover issue was not nearly as great, with the Rockets committing a manageable 12. But they had five in the first three minutes of the second half, showing they remain susceptible to turning the ball over.
In the past nine games, from one three-game road trip through another, the Rockets have ranked 26th in the NBA in turnovers per game, 27th in offensive rebounds allowed. They have given up the most secondchance points (27.2) in the league in that stretch and the fifth-most points off turnovers (18.7). In combination, that has been too much to overcome.
Strugling in the clutch
They also have come up short in close games, going 2-4 in the rare Rockets games decided by five points or fewer. In clutch situations (up or down five points in the final five minutes), the Rockets have made just 36.9 percent of their shots and 21.6 percent of their 3s, ranking 28th in the league. They are 27th in the NBA in clutch situations, getting outscored by 21 points per 100 possessions in those spots.
“You never have moral victories,” guard Chris Paul said. “I like the pace that we played at. Spirit was pretty right the whole game. James and I, we both pride ourselves on making sure we can close games out. We’ve got to close that game out.”
When they didn’t, they were left to pick through the wreckage to find bright spots. Finding a few glimmers were enough to see reason for hope, with improvement not as important as the signs of greater determination.
“Obviously, we want things to be perfect and want things to go great,” Harden said. “Sometimes they don’t. We hit a speed bump. We’ve got to figure it out. That’s what makes you who you are.
“We are good, man. We just have to continue to work hard and watch film and get better individually and as a collective unit. We need to go out there and apply it to the court.”