The Rockets have lost 4 of their last 6 games. What gives?

Spacing went to crap. It is not as severe as when we had Asik but it is the problem right now. This is not Smith's fault as Howard, Beverley and Ariza are lagging right now. I am not sure if they are tired or injured but they are not there all the way and it is showing in the less than stellar defense.

I will say that I am liking the 2nd unit I am seeing. Dmo and Brewer play well with each other. I would prefer to see Canaan getting some play and Terry lessened a bit but the intensity and quality of play is excellent against other 2nd units.

 

Seriously. The Spurs went on a what...6 game losing streak? The Grizzlies a 4 game one.

Ups and downs of a regular season. They are still well within reach of being a top half seed. This is not the best time to peak any ways. Let GSW and Portland have all the fun when it doesn't matter...

 

Looking at the scores, they lost to some very good teams by single digits. I'm not even sure if it's a huge concern at this point.

 

Why do we shoot so many threes? I dont get it.

The defense has taken a step back.

The offense looks lost.

 

None of the above. Turnovers.

 

The losses aren't the concern, nor the currently awkward fit of Smith -

It's the listlessness of nearly everyone not named Harden, the season long shooting slump by Ariza, the mismanagement of minutes by McHale (overplaying starters, underutilizing D Mo - seems to be somewhat improved but still a mess), the general lack of assists and passing outside of Harden, the generally underwhelming performance of Dwight...

None of those alone are deal breakers, but together they are a cause for concern. I'm hoping a few of those problems will be fixed by May.

 

5 of those teams are a part of the best teams in basketball and NO has the best player in the league.

The schedule has gotten tough and we are integrating new guys.

 

We are pretty bad against over .500 teams so that is very concerning.

 

I'll help you out.

A two pointer is worth two points.

A three pointer is worth three points.

When you make a three you get one point more than when you make a two.

Your welcome my friend!

 

I was going to vote TURNOVERS but that wasn't an option. So instead I will echo finsraider's analysis.

 

Yes. More than any of the other choices I think turnovers, especially key ones, have killed us.

Defensive intensity has also dropped. It's almost like the team started reading their own press. Regression.

 

Morey got too trade happy.
I okay with the trades, but work the new guys in slowly, we were winning before the trades, I think this upset some of the rhythm we had.

 

Not to be the voice of reason, but some folks are getting WAY too worked up given we've got 2 new guys that are still being integrated into the rotation.

It's a long season. There will be ups and downs. Focus will lag and players will get tired. Some nights they'll play poorly, other nights they'll play better. Most nights they'll play around their level.

Playing good defense for an entire season is hard. It's why most players can't do it. The same with playing good offense for an entire season, but most players enjoy that more so they're more likely to let their defense lag before they let their offense slip.

Championship caliber teams learn to play strong ball night in and night out. It doesn't mean that they don't slip, it just means that their lows aren't as long and they get back on track faster.

Unfortunately in the West you can't afford to have a low last for too long or you tumble down the standings. Hopefully the Rockets will work it out.

Against the best teams in the NBA, you can't have an off night and expect to win. Maybe you'll get lucky and they'll have an off night too. Other nights they'll just pound you into the pavement.

Take a deep breath and wake me up when we hit the all star break.

Sample size is your friend.

 

Pretty funny how the two biggest factors, turnovers and poor defensive effort, aren't options in the poll. That's why we're losing.

 

I think people put too much in over .500 record and don't consider all of the variables that go into such things.

We lost two games to the Warriors where we were not even close to full strength. We lost a game to the Grizzlies coming off a mexico trip. We got the best of some teams too, as we played Portland without LMA for instance.

The season is long and has many more variables than the playoffs do. We played the Wizards last night on the end of a b2b too, that could have factored into starters being a little sluggish.

We've competed against the best teams in the league. No shame in losing to them by a point or three. No shame in having only 9 losses thus far right now either.

 

Rockets have so many turnovers because the first 15 seconds of the shot clock Beverly is aimlessly dribbling the ball around while the team decided if they either want to post up Dwight or dump it to Harden. Then they can't do either and suddenly there are 10 seconds left in the shot clock and the team scrambles to put up a crappy shot and in the process either turn the ball over or take a ****ty shot.

 

Working Dwight back into the offense

 

Again with the contract-driven conspiracy theories. I can't deal. LOL.