Houston Rockets Week 10 Rewind: 12/28/2014

The Houston Rockets have hobbled through this week in one of their not-so-impressive campaigns of the season.

They were only able to manage one win out of a possible four that were available for the taking.

It’s extremely apparent that this team is experiencing some growing pains with the new additions to our roster.

What was working when the team was shorthanded has been their demise as they brought in the help that they needed.

With new additions in Josh Smith, Corey Brewer and Alexey Shved, us Rockets fans expected to see some continuity as far as continuing their winning ways.

But the total opposite has happened — particularly after Smoove’s first appearance as a starter, it seems as if there’s not enough shots to go around for the guys that need it.

There are many people on this team that thrive with the ball in their hands to operate.

Kevin McHale has to fix this and fast.

I propose that we go back to the original starting lineup of Patrick Beverley, James Harden, Trevor Ariza, Donatas Motiejunas and Dwight Howard.

The effectiveness of this lineup has been second to none and is the most productive lineup to date in some instances being a +20 as far as efficiency.

This past week, the Rockets faced the San Antonio Spurs, Washington Wizards, Charlotte Hornets and New Orleans Pelicans.

Let’s take a look at how they did:

Dec 28, 2014; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs power forward

Tiago Splitter

(22) shoots the ball over Houston Rockets center

Dwight Howard

(12) during the first half at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

Spurs 110, Rockets 106: This seemed like a excellent opportunity for the Rockets to pounce provided that both Kawhi Leonard and Tony Parker were out because of injury. But the Spurs continued to press on in their home arena, being able to hang with the fully-staffed Rockets. Ultimately, what led to the Rockets demise was their free throw shooting — particularly from Howard down the stretch — the Spurs capitalized on those opportunities and the Rockets did not. In fact, the Rockets shot 58.1 percent from the line which will pretty much do any team in — especially against a team like the Spurs. Sadly, it was Harden that contributed to those said opportunities with nine turnovers — tying his career-high — to his credit. Harden had 28 points and Howard had 24/12 in this close loss. Brewer had 25.

Wizards 104, Rockets 103: If three-pointers counted as four points, this game would’ve likely had a different ending. The Rockets struggled through most of this as it was the second of a back-to-back at Toyota Center. They also trailed the Wiz for most of the game as well. But they finally got it together toward the end of the game with Beverley making a pivotal three-pointer cutting their deficit to four with 43.6 seconds left. But a kicked ball violation and a Harden foul would allow Bradley Beal and John Wall to make them pay at the free throw line. They connected on all six opportunities. Harden did get a three-pointer off after they got the ball back with 5.5 seconds left but he was unsuccessful in hopes of drawing a foul. Harden led all scores with 33 points, six rebounds and four assists. Ariza and Brewer dropped 15 points a piece. Smith and Howard were virtually no-shows.

Dec 31, 2014; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets guard

James Harden

(13) shoots the ball during the third quarter as Charlotte Hornets guard

Gerald Henderson

(9) defends at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Rockets 102, Hornets 83: The Rockets were slated to play New Year’s Eve which has become the norm for the past few seasons. This was easily their best game of the week; but, unfortunately, this was against a team that they’re supposed to beat. They only have 10 wins to date. But this was the Beard’s night. Although the game was close in the 2nd half, Harden busted the game wide-open in the third quarter and never looked back going up by as much as 20 points before the game end. His eight three-pointers were a career-high and it seemed as if he was really feeling it. Every ballplayer loves those nights where every shot launched goes in. Harden chipped in 36 points, seven rebounds and six assists including shooting 8-for-11 from behind-the-arc. They certainly ended 2014 on a winning note.

Pelicans 111, Rockets 83: The first game of 2015 was one of the worst that I’ve seen this season. It seemed as if nothing seemed to work despite the Rockets attempting to shoot their way out of the slump. They were dominated in just about every statistical category possible and it’s obvious that they’ve had their fair share of match up problems with them in their 99-90 loss Dec. 18th. However, the Rockets never lead and their deficit was as high as 32 points with 4:38 left to go in regulation. There were very few positives from this game but D-Mo was slightly better than the bunch chipping in 10 points, six rebounds and two assists. He did play rock-solid defense as he should and I honestly think he should get his minutes back to get back into rhythm. We’ve seen him do more than this. This game was quite forgettable and I was certainly glad that the game clock had elapsed to triple-zeroes.

Houston Rockets Week 10 Rewind: 12/28/2014 – 01/03/2015

By Brian K. Patterson | Jan 3, 2015