SAN FRANCISCO — Eight consecutive losses wear on a team no matter the manner in which they occur, but, man, the Rockets keep finding frustrating ways to lose.
Sunday’s 120-107 loss at Golden State was Houston’s largest margin of defeat in its winless five-game road trip out West, and it contained many of the same patterns as the previous letdowns. The Rockets played hard, competed with one of the league’s best teams, and ultimately couldn’t outrun their mistakes.
The Rockets return home with a 1-9 record, the only solace being that the trip contained valuable lessons for a team still finding its identity.
“It was definitely daunting and we’re definitely a much better team as a result of going through these road games,” coach Stephen Silas said. “I’ve seen a lot of growth and how we need to play to play winning basketball and how much effort you have to put forth in order to not even compete, but just be at the correct level to kind of be where we’ve been at, like right in every game and all that. We learned a ton and we need to take that home with us.”
1. Turnovers, again
The Rockets had gone two games in a row with fewer than 20 turnovers per game, but Sunday represented a regression. The Rockets dished 16 assists and committed 22 turnovers. The Warriors scored 33 points off turnovers, the most by a Rockets opponent this season since Minnesota scored 38 points in the season opener.
The Warriors recorded 12 steals and scored a season-high 36 points on fast breaks.
Houston leads the NBA in turnovers per game (19.8). Center Daniel Theis overestimated that number but was unequivocal in stating that turnovers continue to be the biggest culprit in Rockets losses.
“I think we average 25 turnovers a game, and it’s hard to win on the road especially — in general, winning games when you average 25 turnovers,” he said. “In the first half I think they scored 26, 25 points off 14 turnovers we had. So I think that’s our biggest issue right now.”
Rockets opponents are averaging 25.1 points off turnovers and 11.3 steals per game, both of which lead the NBA. On Sunday, the turnovers that hurt the most were the ones that occurred in bunches.
In the third quarter alone, Houston had seven turnovers and shot 5-of-10 from the free-throw line.
The Rockets started the second half down by eight points but made it a one-possession game with five minutes remaining in the quarter. Andre Wiggins’ free throws gave the Warriors an 85-80 lead and the Rockets were attempting to chip away when Kevin Porter Jr. was whistled for an offensive foul, the team’s 15th turnover of the night.
Golden State forward Nemanja Bjelica missed a 3-point jump shot and on the next Houston possession David Nwaba rebounded Christian Wood’s missed shot, only to turn the ball over on a Steph Curry steal that led to a Warriors bucket. Silas called a timeout to regroup but on the Rockets’ first possession out of the timeout Wood turned it over and the ensuing Bjelica basket widened the lead to 10 points.
Alperen Sengun and Jalen Green gave the ball away on the next two possessions as well. Both times, the Warriors scored.
The sequence added up to a 15-1 Warriors run spanning two minutes and 50 seconds, and comprising five Rockets turnovers.
2. Christian Wood out of sorts
Wood entered Sunday’s game with the dual distinctions of Houston’s leading scorer and the third NBA player to have recorded at least 171 points, 117 rebounds, 21 assists and 19 made 3-pointers through the first nine games of a season. He posted a double-double in each of the road trip’s first four games, concluding with a then season-low 12 points on Saturday in Denver.
Wood’s typically massive box scores made his quiet performance against the Warriors all the more jarring. The 6-foot-10 forward was all but invisible in the first half. He averaged 5.6 field goal attempts per game through the first nine games of the season but did not take his first shot until the 10:33 mark in the third quarter (it was blocked by Kevon Looney).
Hounded by six-time All-Defensive Team member Draymond Green, Wood struggled to find space to operate offensively and appeared disconnected beyond setting a few high screens. After he picked up two quick fouls, Silas subbed him out with 8:06 remaining in the second quarter and the Rockets trailing 45-42. Wood did not play for the rest of the half; he did not record a rebound.
“It was hard because Draymond Green was guarding him and usually it’s a little bit easier to get him into actions,” Silas said. “It was frustrating. He was frustrated, I was frustrated. He came back in the second half and did a better job and I was proud of him for that.”
Wood ended the night with four points on 2-of-5 shooting, one rebound, one assist, four steals and three turnovers. In a season marked by youth and inexperience, the Rockets have relied heavily on Wood to deliver in all aspects of the game. Perhaps the burden combined with a brutal portion of the schedule, which included Houston’s first back-to-back against the NBA’s top defensive team, was partially to blame for Wood’s uncharacteristically inefficient night.
3. Jae’Sean Tate thrives
Jae’Sean Tate continues to blossom in his second season while making the most of his starting role. Tate’s abilities as a lockdown defender were evident his rookie year; the biggest addition to his toolbox now is his offensive skill.
Tate led the Rockets with 19 points and 10 rebounds Sunday, his second double-double of the season, while shooting a wickedly efficient 7-of-11 from the field and 2-for-4 from deep. Efficient was not always a word associated with Tate on offense. He shot just 30.8 percent on 3-pointers last season and, though heralded for his versatility, sometimes appeared inhibited by being thrust into so many different positions.
This season, he looks much more comfortable with his jump shot and more capable of holding his own against bigger bodies down low. Against the Warriors, he launched 3-pointers with hands in his face and battled through contact multiple times to win rebounds.
“Just being more comfortable with my teammates,” he said. “I think we’re starting to figure out each other’s tendencies. It’s going to continue to be like that. I knew it was going to take some time because it’s a new group and I feel like everybody is improving and figuring each other out.”
And as always, Tate took his defensive assignment against Green very seriously, limiting the Warriors forward to six points to go with eight rebounds and nine assists.
Silas said the Rockets can count on Tate to make the most of his advantageous match-ups against smaller forwards in the post, but “When he makes his 3s, that’s gravy for our group.”
“It’s a product of his work,” Silas said. “He was in the gym all summer in Houston, and he is so diligent and he is so into the team. And for him scoring 21 and getting 10 rebounds has nothing to do with his wanting to do that. He does what is necessary for the group. He is super selfless whether it’s guarding LeBron and Draymond tonight or any other quality players or providing scoring and rebounding for us, he does it.”
