If the OKC game was exciting, frustrating and encouraging in equal measure, this game was pure frustration. The Rockets have started the year playing two “Can’t Call ‘Em All” defenses, though Detroit is actually
a more extreme version. An average Sengun or Amen game is a Rockets win. They had something considerably worse. Tonight’s reverse beauty pageant saw the Rockets shoot a whopping 48 free throws in a game that ended in regulation time. They made 37 of them, so that’s a positive to take away.
The negatives to take away were that several Rockets just had fairly awful games overall, and particularly on offense. They were, in no particular order, Alperen Sengun, Amen Thompson, Reed Sheppard, to a lesser extent Jabari Smith.
Keven Durant, despite some awkwardness on offense did NOT have a bad game. He did exactly what he was brought in to do. Durant played only 28 minutes. He scored 37 points on 9-18 shooting and 16-18 free throws. Josh Okogie also had a good game.
A couple of Rockets concepts also had bad games. One was the double big lineup. The other was constant zone defense. When the Rockets play double bigs they expect to control the paint and to win the rebounding battle decisively. They did neither. They barely edged Detroit on the offensive glass, despite Jalen Durren getting ejected early on, and Isaiah Stewart fouling out. The Pistons were also perfectly prepared to exploit the zone, and did so successfully, heading into the heart of it for easy looks or passes. If we see more such preparation the Rockets should probably do what they’ve built their roster to do – one big, Sengun, and a bunch of wings.
Another concept that took a hit is “No guards.” Whatever your assessment of Reed Sheppard, the Rockets desperately need someone, anyone, to organize the offense and be able to do guard things. Tonight he really didn’t do that. He took ill advised shots, and missed. He took some advised shots and missed. He made some good passes, that lead to misses. He was a target on defense, and he is going to be, and he literally has to be, given the other players. He’s going to have to learn to deal with it, and it’s going to be a baptism of fire. When the game came to him, on open three pointers, he cashed them. It’s not all bad, and he’s far from the only Rocket to look slightly awful tonight.
The only way out for Reed and the Rockets is through, as there isn’t really an alternative, and again, the Rockets desperately require some guard play. Things you don’t notice guards doing, don’t get done. For example, someone coming back for an inbounds pass, or going to help get the ball from a Rocket who has gone to the ground. That’s not what forwards do, and so far, that’s nothing something Amen Thompson does.
That’s guard stuff, and right now, no one does it. A player who did all those little things almost flawlessly was Fred VanVleet (some bigger things, not as well). They also miss Fred’s general game awareness and being the signal caller for the defense. No one is really doing it, and it shows. Reed can’t do this because he’s just not experienced enough. Fred VanVleet was still in college at Reeds age, his first season was age 22, which will be Reed’s third, and his age 22 year was nothing to write home about.
Sengun’s utter brilliance in OKC was contrasted by a stinker in this one. He went 5-18 overall. He missed easy shot, and he pressed himself into bad shots with a defense swarming around him. I don’t really fault players for missing good shots, but that’s generally not what happened here. He missed bad shots and ill advised attempts. Because he’s still a star, he had 7 boards, 7 assists and 3 steals. One problem we’re seeing is that the Sengun who was the hub for Turkey in EuroBasket didn’t do his work from the three point line. He initiated closer to the basket, so that he can be a dual threat to score or pass. He didn’t have to drive so much into a set defense to get shots. The problem with this is – who will get the entry pass to him to set up there?
Amen Thompson had a similarly bad night, both on offense and defense. He went to the line a lot, but that’s kind of a win for the opponent. He didn’t defend well, and recorded no steals or blocks. He doesn’t seem to recognize mismatches where he should just drive and cook his opponent. This was especially evident late, when Detroits bigs had fouled out, and he had the large, but much slower, Cade Cunningham defending him, and wouldn’t simply attack, despite lots of space to do it.
Tari Eason was fine. He wasn’t really a problem, and he wasn’t really an asset. Josh Okogie was good.
If I have two major concerns after tonight here they are.
One. The offensive scheme. The same old stuff from last season will not work. There aren’t any guards. Tonight the Rockets could have really, truly, used a Jalen Green dribble, dribble, drive and score or offensive rebound. I don’t miss Jalen, but it’s very easy to clog up the Rockets already nearly moribund offensive actions with no real initiators on the court. (Amen is going to have to do something besides pass on the move to get a “PG” rating for me.) They need to find ways to get easier looks. Yes, Durant can gouge out points from nothing, but so far, that’s not enough. The Rockets need to get creative. On offense. This may not be possible for an Ime Udoka team, which puts a real ceiling on how good he is.
They need to shoot more threes. Detroit shot 39 threes, and made 16 of them, for 41%. The Rockets shot only 22, and while they made 10, that’s just too much trading 2 for 3.
The Rockets didn’t start out well last season, and they have much more to work out right now. It’s not time to panic, as a few wins cure a lot of problems. The things that the Rockets aren’t doing can all be ironed out, and players can grow and improve in new roles, or just generally grow and improve. But it won’t happen quickly. We all need to be prepared to have a bit of patience. Like it or not, it’s what’s on the menu.
