After the victory over the Memphis Grizzlies, the Houston Rockets' record reached 16-48. After 64 regular season games, the Rockets still rank last in the West, and the Rockets don't look like they've improved much compared to last season. However, a welcome change for the Rockets this season is that the young Rockets are not completely without "counter-strength" in their showdowns with some of the top teams.
Needless to say, the victory over the powerful Grizzlies is needless to say, this season the Rockets have also defeated the Bulls in the top 4 of the East, and also defeated the Brooklyn Nets led by Harden single-core, and can play with the Suns and Jazz, but the ability to grasp the opportunity in the end is not strong, which is the defeat. In the game with the Grizzlies, the Rockets played a different game, and the "different" here is not to say that the Rockets' tactics and lineup are different, but that the Temperament of the Rockets has changed significantly.
How to say it? Look at the Rockets' regular loss pattern this season, in general, the rockets lose the game, is at the beginning of the opponent to suppress the play, and finally the whole field is trapped, can not defend and can not attack, almost at the beginning of the fourth quarter of the game into a "garbage time". But this game with the Grizzlies, see what the Rockets do. The score in the fourth quarter was clear: the Rockets lost seven points 27-34 in the first quarter, the Rockets lost three more points 25-28 in the second quarter, and after halftime, the Rockets trailed the Grizzlies by 10 points.
If this is usual, the Rockets will only lose more and more in the second half, and the score gap will probably run 20 or 30 points. But that wasn't the case with the Rockets in this game, and they launched a Jedi counterattack in the second half! The Rockets won back 10 points 40-30 in the 3rd quarter, while in the 4th quarter, the Rockets won 21 more points 31-20. If the Rockets were the worst team in the league in the first half, it was indisputable. But in the second half, the Rockets completely played the level of the championship-level team, and the Rockets won 21 points in the second half, which directly allowed the Rockets to take away the victory of the game.
This game is also a rare reversal of the Rockets since the rebuilding of last season. After this game, the Rockets also showed 3 major improvements: First, the mentality of the Rockets players is more mature, usually as long as the Rockets are more than ten or twenty points behind, the players will immediately give up the game, and there is no idea of pulling back the score. Second, the Rockets had players stand up at key moments to lead the team to chase points, he is Kevin Porter Jr., who scored 19 points in the third quarter. Porter Jr. has been questioned a lot this season, but in this game, Porter Jr. showed his strong scoring ability.
Third, every player in the Rockets' game, with the exception of Wood, Porter Jr. and Jaylen Green, can contribute. Shinkin's interior passing strategy, Christopher's sneak attack and defense, Matthews' three-pointer, and the steady play of Tate, Gordon and Martin Jr. in the game are all essential for the Rockets to win. Usually, the Rockets' games are always played normally, some people play abnormally, and as in this game, the Rockets' 3 core Players Potter, Green, and Wood can cut 20+ at the same time, and role players can play normally.
In addition to the above 3 improvements, the Rockets should be most grateful to Porter Jr., who is known as "Mr. Key". Porter Jr. has completed a three-point shootout this season, and when the Rockets urgently need to chase points, it is Porter Jr. who takes the initiative to stand up and take responsibility. This kind of game of turning the tables against the wind can make young players grow faster than winning with a downwind. Even this game can be seen as an iconic game in which the Rockets lineup is truly formed.