Buoyed by an offense ranked first in efficiency entering the weekend, the Houston Rockets masked some defensive concerns while rolling to an unblemished five-game start to the season.
Against the Dallas Mavericks and their dynamic duo of Cooper Flagg and Kyrie Irving, those issues were laid bare. The Rockets surrendered a whopping 40 points in the fourth quarter of a 116-111 loss, their first of the season, on Friday in Dallas.
Houston will host the short-handed Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday.
The Mavericks shot 51.9% from the floor and outscored the Rockets 28-10 in fast-break points. Flagg and Irving combined for 68 points on 65.8% shooting and totaled 27 points in the fourth quarter as the Mavericks rallied from an 11-point, second-half deficit.
“Nights when the shots don’t fall, we’ve still got to guard,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said. “We guard in the first half, held them to 44 (points), and give up 72 points in the second half, including 40 in the fourth quarter.
“We haven’t been great so far in the first five games (in transition defense). They dominated that. Too many times they got their opportunity when guys were jogging back, not getting set.”
The Rockets were without Alperen Sengun and Reed Sheppard, both sidelined with back ailments. However, neither is considered a frontline defensive stalwart for the Rockets, so the issues that plagued Houston against the Mavericks need addressing, regardless of the rotation.
The Thunder suffered a 24-point loss to the Mavericks on Wednesday. Their injury report was littered with prominent contributors, with Jalen Williams (ankle) and Cason Wallace (shoulder) potentially sidelined for the season, while Alex Caruso (ankle) and Chet Holmgren (knee) also were unavailable.
Holmgren will be sidelined the next eight to 10 weeks because of a small patellar tendon tear, the team announced Friday.
Those absences forced the Thunder to not only dig deeper into their bench, but to ask a handful of available players to adjust to new roles. As expected, the changes resulted in a bumpy start.
“We’ve got a lot of new guys playing right now, and we’ve got guys playing different roles, which we have to invest in, and we’ll get better at,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “They’ll improve as they get those reps. It’s good for them. It kind of broadens their game, and it’s good for us.
“There’s a lot of stuff we can improve at.”
Missing three starters plus a valuable sixth man would challenge any team, even one as deep as Oklahoma City. The task for those who remain is to do a bit more to help those charged with stepping into the fray, and that responsibility starts at the top.
“We’ve got to be better on the glass,” Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We’re obviously smaller out there now, so it’s a little bit more challenging, but we’ve got to be tougher, fight more. That helps with the second-chance points and also allows us to get out there and play faster.
“And then, especially with guys down, I’ve got to be better when I have a chance to win games. Those two things clean themselves up, and the game looks a little bit different.”
