Despite entering Thursday’s games in fourth place in the Western Conference, the Houston Rockets hardly have resembled the physical team that surprised the NBA and claimed the conference’s second seed last season.
In their 114-93 home loss to the Boston Celtics, the first game of a back-to-back set that includes hosting the Charlotte Hornets on Thursday night, the Rockets presented another concerning glimpse of how things have unfolded differently this season.
Personnel changes have impacted how the Rockets have performed, with the losses of Dillon Brooks via trade and Fred VanVleet to injury dulling the edge Houston played with last season.
“The edge is missing,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said. “We don’t have that on a nightly basis, so we’re toughing out wins where we used to be able to lock down and take over games like that. We’re just going through the motions at times. I would say the overall energy and toughness of the group to start games is not there.”
The short-handed Celtics surged from the opening tip and did not relent. A third-quarter barrage from behind the 3-point line enabled Boston to carve out a comfortable margin and cruise to victory. The Celtics dominated despite playing the second game of a back-to-back, while the Rockets appeared to be stuck in the mud and were listless throughout.
With four games remaining before the All-Star break, Udoka is mindful of how attention can wane at this point of the season. Still, how the Rockets perform against the Hornets might serve as a referendum of sorts.
“The high expectations being put on our team, I understand that from everybody else from the outside,” Houston veteran forward Kevin Durant said. “It wasn’t like this last year. Games like tonight, you could just sweep under the rug and move on to the next. This is a young team, and this happens.
“With our team this year, it’s a lot more pressure on every game. It’s a lot more pressure for every loss. You’re looking to dissect the team a little bit more after every ‘L.’ And every ‘W,’ if it doesn’t look right, it’s still critiqued with that. A lot of times, just focus on the next day, putting this behind us, and realize this is just part of the NBA season and not let it get too big.”
The Hornets, conversely, have won seven consecutive games and are surging up the East standings.
Charlotte bolstered its backcourt rotation by acquiring guard Coby White from the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday, with White averaging 18.6 points and 4.7 assists in 29 games (26 starts).
The Hornets have closed to within a game of the Bulls for a position in the play-in tournament. After another sluggish start to the season, Charlotte has flipped the script.
“Just being good on both ends of the floor,” coach Charles Lee said. “Really impressed with the guys’ level of competitiveness on defense and also understanding the importance of trying to get stops every possession. I think there’s been a little bit more purpose behind a lot of what we’ve done defensively: The physicality, the finishing possessions, the understanding of personnel tendencies has been really high level. The communication continues to get better.
“And then offensively we just continue to grow with our ability to execute plays, with our ability to play with the pass and play with pace and variety. It’s been really impressive to watch.”
