Mess rehearsal
San Antonio has no problem dominating sluggish team
The Rockets could live with being a step slow. Having traveled halfway around the planet and back will do that. There also were several practice days of evidence to tell them their legs were still heavy, sacrificed to the Japan trip.
They would rather not, however, have gone from globetrotters to Washington Generals.
While it took a while to get much of the usual offense cranked up, the Rockets were helpless against San Antonio, trailing by as much as 25 before the Spurs cruised in with a 128-114 blowout wake-up call Wednesday night at Toyota Center.
Asked if that was all about the jetlag left behind, Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said, “Boy, I hope so, because if not, then we’re in trouble.
“We just didn’t get into anybody. They scored at will. It’s just like they didn’t feel us, and it’s been that way for a couple days and I get it.”
With just one preseason game remaining to get things right, there is a greater sense of urgency to get up to speed, even if Wednesday’s struggles were understandable.
The Spurs made 57.1 percent of their shots, but even that might not show how much they had their way with the Rockets’ defense. With DeMar DeRozan and Rudy Gay sitting out, LaMarcus Aldridge and Dejounte Murray combined to make 19 of 24 shots. Aldridge got his 22 points in just 22 minutes, Murray had 20 in 21 minutes.
“Not really a concern, but we definitely have to bring the level of intensity up,” said Rockets guard Eric Gordon, who returned to his sixth man role with Danuel House Jr. moving into the starting lineup. “We’ve got to be more aggressive. You know, we do feel a little bit of jetlag. At the same time, we do need to play better.”
The Spurs moved so easily that their starters had just four turnovers. The Rockets, who had averaged 8.5 blocked shots in the preseason, ranking second in the league, had just two, both by Isaiah Hartenstein with the benches largely emptied.
“We’ve got to put the alarm bell out there
and we got to get ready for the season, and we’re not there,” D’Antoni said. “You can see it. Our legs weren’t there. We’ll see (Thursday) and Friday night (in Miami) if we’re a little bit better.
“And then we’ll have a couple of practices. I’m sure we’ll pick it up, but it wasn’t good tonight. Our defense did not give us a chance.”
The offense could not begin to keep pace.
James Harden started slowly but seemed to find a groove throughout the game, leading the Rockets with 40 points, with 11 rebounds and seven assists. But Russell Westbrook struggled through much of his home debut before getting going a bit offensively in the fourth quarter. Until then, he had as many turnovers (seven) as points.
“Getting there,” Westbrook said. “That’s all you do. Figure it out. It’s going to come, man. It’s going to be a process. It’s going to be a full season where you figure it out. Teams that have figured it out struggle, so don’t be alarmed. (Chemistry) is the biggest part.
“System is fine. System is easy to adjust to. Chemistry with my teammates is the most important to me, figure out where they’re going to be. They have to figure out where my pace is.”
Westbrook finished with 14 points, four assists, four rebounds and eight turnovers, with the Spurs outscoring the Rockets by 26 in his 29 minutes on the floor. He cited not being able to run in the offseason after having knee surgery in May as a challenge as he tries to get his usual wind.
“Yeah, he hasn’t played all summer,” D’Antoni said. “Plus, I think he has a couple of dislocated fingers, so he’ll work into it. He’ll be fine. You can see when he goes, he goes. He’ll be all right.
“We’re going to run our stuff and he’ll find a way. We’ll get a little bit better. Right now, it just doesn’t feel good for him. You can tell he’s struggling, trying to make the pass or the finish or whatever. That’s normal when you come back. He plays so fast. If you haven’t played in a while, you lose your rhythm.”
The Rockets lost some of what worked somewhere between Tokyo and Toyota Center. They did, however, get a clear picture of what needs to be corrected in the week before the opener.
“Today was a lesson for us,” Harden said. “Tomorrow, we’ll watch film, figure out what we can get better at, just talk it over.”