That was refreshing. The Rocket lead this game wire to wire, and never seemed in danger of losing it. The Rockets won the first quarter 37-24 and never looked back, taking 66-48 lead into half time. The Rockets managed
to take the lead over 30 on several occasions, but ended up winning by only 27 in what amounted to a second half of semi, to full-on, garbage time. The main feature of the fourth quarter was Amen Thompson and Alperen Sengun chasing triple doubles. They were allowed to do it maybe a bit longer than was wise, but no harm befell them, and in all it amounted to pushing their minutes slightly over 30 each.
There’s really not a ton to talk about in this one, the Celtics were outmuscled and outmatched, and on a back to back. Despite having a surprisingly good start to the season, Boston had only played one Western Conference team so far, and that was the Pelicans. The difference between NOLA and a likely top Western team in the Rockets was evident from the start against a Celtics team that’s a shell of what it was last season.
So let’s cover a few fun things about this game, and call it a night.
- Jabari Smith – Godzilla Blocks Night. Jabari had a nice night overall in his 26 minutes, but he had four wicked harsh blocks. Two were blocked dunk attempts and the other two were pretty brutal as well. He really does appear to be breaking out, as he’s getting to his spot, rising and firing pretty jumpers, and making his threes well, too.
- Alperen Sengun – 16/10/9/1/2 in 31 minutes. It really should have been more, but he missed some bunnies, and fairly easy looks.
- Amen Thompson – 17/9/8, with 6-12 shooting and 1-1 from three. Oh, and he held Jaylen Brown to 12pts on 6-14 shooting and a real Nor’easter of whining as well.
- Kevin Durant – 26/4/1/2/1. Shot 8-11, 2-3 from three, 8-9 from the line. That’s Very Efficient Offense. He only played 30 minutes. Durant’s ability to stop opponent’s runs and hammer nails into their metaphorical coffin is kind of awe inspiring. It makes me think of a world where he joins Houston, rather than Golden State way back when. Rockets fans would have definitely treated him better, and the NBA world, too, I think.
- Tari Eason has added a new wrinkle to the chaos he brings to the court. Shooting. Tari finished 12/6/0/0/1 in 20 minutes. But that’s not the big deal. The big deal is he’s getting open looks at three, and cashing them. He went 4-6 from three point range tonight, and overall is shooting 53% from three so far. That won’t hold, but the shooting looks real.
- Also joining that great shooting is Josh Okogie. He’s a low usage defender who is just as annoying at one on one defender as Dillon Brooks. He shot 3-5 from three, on open corner looks, and 60% for the season.
- The Rockets are still the #1 offense in the NBA, by a wider margin than previously, at 126.5 per game offensive rating. The next highest is, as you’d expect, the 76ers at 122.3. Their defensive rating climbed to 12th overall, with the effort against Boston. Their net rating trails…San Antonio and The Wemby show by 0.3 points at +13 points.
- All these fun stats are brought to you courtesy of Small Sample Size Theatre. That is to say, it’s very early days, but it’s better to have good stats early than bad ones. It is of course better still to finish the season with great stats and take them into the playoffs.
- This was a very relaxing win, and a less brutal way to spend a Saturday evening than being a Blue Jays fan.
- Onwards to face Dallas on Monday. The Mavs have basically no bigs available, aside from their 18 year old rookie PG, Cooper Flagg. They’re playing a lot of Dwight Powell.
