On February 18, Beijing time, the Rockets 111-142 lost to the Clippers. Rising star Green 8-of-15, 5-of-10 three-pointers, contributed 21 points, Tate 19 points, Wood 13 points, the team of six people scored in double figures, but finally lost with 31 points, three "can't hold" to reveal the real cause.
Green contributed 21 points
Gossip aside, let's go straight to the point, the Rockets trailed by 9 points 27-36 in the first quarter; 12 points behind in the halftime; 79-107 after the third quarter has fallen behind by 28 points. The specific details are as follows:
First, the rocket is in the growth stage and is not yet mature.
First of all, it should be clear that although Green contributed 21 points, the newcomers he represented, such as Shin Kyung, Christopher and Martin Jr., were still in the growth period and were not mature, so the offensive success rate was expected.
Green missed a layup
For example, this offense, the Rockets semi-converted the attack, Green held the ball from the right side of the arc directly under the basket, throwing the shot surprisingly three do not stick, the problem explained: the Clippers have four people to retreat, Green is still rushing to the paint, the attack itself is unreasonable; in addition, Green's excellent physical talent, the Clippers four people retreat is also unable to cover, but he threw three do not stick, the problem indicated, the personal termination ability is limited, this is the "epitome" of the Rockets' current offense.
Tate, Green, including Christopher and Shen Jing, and even Wood, the same empty opportunities are in front of them, but their ability to finish is limited, not to mention that sometimes the offensive choice is not reasonable, so the offense will appear dumb, which is one of the main reasons why they have suffered seven consecutive losses, so in this case, it depends on the defense, and as a result, in the face of the Clippers, the Rockets' defensive problems are exposed to the skin, and the three "can't hold" are evidenced.
Second, the impact of the Clippers on the interior line.
Although the Rockets have two new stars in the interior, Wood and Shin Kyung, their confrontational strength and defensive experience are too limited to hold back the Clippers' impact on the paint area, a typical case.
Zubac beat Wood
Reggie burst to the free throw line, Wood and Matthews came to pinch, Reggie hoisted the ball to Zubac on the inside, according to the theory, Wood should be able to defend the Clippers' blue-collar interior attack, but the truth? Zubac hooked his hand with ease.
Reflected in the game, Zubac contributed 13 points and 10 rebounds on 6 of 10, Halten contributed 13 points and 8 rebounds in the end of 6 of 7, the Clippers' 64% vs. 56% shooting percentage in the interior line, and the 64-56 interior score, confirming that the Rockets could not hold the Clippers' interior offense.
Second, "can't hold" the Clippers double star medium distance.
The inability to hold the inside line has put the Rockets at a disadvantage, and worse, in point-to-point defense, the Rockets have not been able to hold down the Clippers' individual offense, such as the mid-range.
Morris middle distance
Morris was one of the team's offensive cores in the absence of Leonard and George, and as a result, the Rockets simply didn't have a defender who could match, and Morris scored 27 points on 7-of-13 including four three-pointers.
Mann buckled heavily
Mann is a rising star tapped by Lue's coach last season, and the lads have 20 points and 8 rebounds on 8-of-13 shooting in this game, whether it is breaking through the paint or the mid-range, the Rockets still have no one to effectively contain.
The interior and mid-range have been completely lost, and what is even more frightening is that the Rockets cannot hold the three-point line.
Three, "can't hold back" Kennard's three points.
Kennard extended the Clippers with 64 million three-pointers, and any team has to defend his three-pointers, but the Rockets?
Kennard scored the 5th three-pointer
In the second quarter of the game, Kennard scored 6 of 7 points in a single quarter, and one person scored 19 points alone, which was the X factor that the Rockets were 12 points behind the Clippers in the half even if they played in excellent condition. In the whole game, Kennard exploded 25 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists on 8 of 9 outside the three-point line, and the Rockets' outside defense was collapsed by Kennard alone.
Looking at this game again, the Answer to the Rockets' 31-point fiasco surfaced, and the young players grew up to ensure the success rate of the offense, and at the defensive end, the team could not hold on to any point of the Clippers' "inside, mid-range and three-point line", so that the team's overall defense completely collapsed, allowing the Clippers to bomb a terrible 142 points with 55.4% + 51.4%, and defense was the real reason for the team's fiasco.