Rockets won 5 in a row. What's happening?

Else_where · Post #1 » by **Else_where** » Sat Dec 4, 2021 6:08 am

Weren't they supposed to be tanking?

GSP · Post #2 » by **GSP** » Sat Dec 4, 2021 6:16 am

No Jalen Green to anchor the tank anymore.............Their best rookie is still playing tho Sengun

dc · Post #3 » by dc » Sat Dec 4, 2021 6:22 am

With the way OKC showed out last night, the Rockets need to get Green back out there right now.

DroseReturnChi · Post #4 » by **DroseReturnChi** » Sat Dec 4, 2021 6:36 am

rockets are a playoff team without green.

MrGoat · Post #5 » by **MrGoat** » Sat Dec 4, 2021 6:38 am

We got to the part of the season where an ultra young team like the Rockets are dangerous to play against if you don't have fresh legs. Also playing their last three games against OKC and Orlando helped, though they did beat Charlotte and Chicago before that

jwood255 · Post #6 » by **jwood255** » Sat Dec 4, 2021 6:55 am

If we extrapolate from the last 5 games, they're a perennial 82-0 team with a championship ring every year. Is Jalen Green the worst player of all time?

Upperclass · Post #7 » by **Upperclass** » Sat Dec 4, 2021 6:56 am

They are a really athletic, really well coached team. Everyone was high on Green but clearly removing his unhinged style of play has opened things up

ThatBoyNick · Post #8 » by **ThatBoyNick** » Sat Dec 4, 2021 7:17 am

Lol everybody blaming Green doesn't know what they are talking about

It mostly seems to be these two things, if we want to attribute it to real things and not just say "shots are falling" because the shooters are just hot.

1. The single big lineup - We went from Wood + Theis to just Wood in the starting lineup. Theis relegated to DNP save 1 game Wood went out with an injury. After this adjustment, spacing seems to have opened up significantly for everybody, the whole team hit a flip, shooters are blazing hot, 8 guys shooting over 40%, assist are up, turnovers are down.

2. Strength of schedule, 2 games against Bulls/Hornets okay, but 2 games against OKC, and 1 against Magic, tomorrow is Pels. Pretty unlikely we have this same streak if not for 3 games against the other bottom teams.

Possibly 3? The rumor about Rockets considering canning Silas came out the day before the winning streak, maybe a kick in the ass for the players and coaching staff

As for Green, he played in 1 of the 5 games for 1 quarter before getting injured. He actually looked really good in that quarter with 11 points. It's possible the single big lineup could have opened up his game like the rest of the team. In his last 5 games, he was playing better 14ppg, 48/31/82 shooting split with only 1.6 turnovers and 1.2 fouls per game. That being said in his absence, EG/Matthews/Brooks have been on absolute fire while filling his minutes.

LarsV8 · Post #9 » by **LarsV8** » Sat Dec 4, 2021 7:25 am

I don't know, but it **** sucks.

TANK

K_chile22 · Post #10 » by **K_chile22** » Sat Dec 4, 2021 7:38 am

Their most used lineup had a frontcourt orf Thies, Wood and Tate and that was just a disaster offensively and Wood was bad defending the four. Then they were running two bigs on bench units too to fit in Sengun minutes. First game of the year where they committed to only playing one big at a time and benched Thies (not necessarily his fault, he just doesn't fit) was.. game one of this win streak. Their last 3 games were also against OKC and ORL

Green is a negative player, as most 19 yo high usage players are, but him being out is not the main reason for this, but does probably help a bit

Edit: forgot to add, but Garrison Mathews has been absolutely killing it during this streak, he was with the vipers until right before the win streak started and now he's starting

Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using RealGM mobile app

ZombieKilla · Post #11 » by **ZombieKilla** » Sat Dec 4, 2021 3:31 pm

1. They moved Christian Wood to center, and he can dominate a game from C if they make him the focal point of the offense. (People forget that the Rockets went on a 6 game winning streak last season before Wood got hurt and it all fell apart).
2. Garrison Mathews & Armoni Brooks. Having 2 deadeye shooters always helps.
3. They went to a 'point guard by committee' instead of trying to make KPJ a full time PG. KPJ, Gordon, Tate, Sengun, Augustine and Christopher all run the offense at times (Gordon starting alongside KPJ kind of calms everything down). They lead the NBA in total assists over the 5 game winning streak.
4. As far as Green, we have not seen him play since they gave up the 2 big lineup. I think he will finally be able to show what he can do when he returns with that spacing.

Edit:
5. Defense. They have become a top 10 defensive team over the past few games.

HoopsterJones · Post #12 » by **HoopsterJones** » Sat Dec 4, 2021 4:06 pm

2 quality but close wins over CHI and CHA then the next 3 wins against bottom tier teams OKC (2x) and ORL.

They are looking better of late so props to them.

tundraknight · Post #13 » by **tundraknight** » Sat Dec 4, 2021 5:06 pm

Alonzo_Morning wrote:You could make a case for Cade, Mobley and Barnes before Green.

Hell, even Wagner

Right now I'm going Cade, Mobley, Barnes, Wagner, Giddey, Green, Suggs, Herb

All the guys I named before Green impact the game at a good level better than him

Well Green may be more of a project than some of those guys listed, but because of his speed and athleticism, he can still be effective offensively with his skill set once he “puts it all together”.

Unfortunately though he’s undersized with a poor wingspan and narrow shoulders. Which limits his defensive potential.

tundraknight · Post #14 » by **tundraknight** » Sat Dec 4, 2021 9:24 pm

Supposedly the Rockets set an NBA record for the most consecutive wins after starting 1-16.

Karate Diop · Post #15 » by **Karate Diop** » Sat Dec 4, 2021 10:10 pm

When you're really bad, other teams don't take you seriously and slip up.

KIRAG · Post #16 » by **KIRAG** » Sat Dec 4, 2021 10:16 pm

Maybe they can do a Hawks of last season and turn this team from tanking to a play-in/playoffs team end of the season?

Rockets fans might not want this though

Scalabrine · Post #17 » by **Scalabrine** » Sat Dec 4, 2021 10:31 pm

Bulls and Hornets were solid close wins then the other 3 came against the Thunder twice and the Magic, both of which are worse than them.

tundraknight · Post #18 » by **tundraknight** » Sun Dec 5, 2021 3:32 am

GSP wrote:No Jalen Green to anchor the tank anymore.............Their best rookie is still playing tho Sengun

Sengun was a great pick. I’m surprised the Spurs passed on him.

thelead · Post #19 » by **thelead** » Sun Dec 5, 2021 4:08 am

ZombieKilla wrote:1. They moved Christian Wood to center, and he can dominate a game from C if they make him the focal point of the offense. (People forget that the Rockets went on a 6 game winning streak last season before Wood got hurt and it all fell apart).
2. Garrison Mathews & Armoni Brooks. Having 2 deadeye shooters always helps.
3. They went to a 'point guard by committee' instead of trying to make KPJ a full time PG. KPJ, Gordon, Tate, Sengun, Augustine and Christopher all run the offense at times (Gordon starting alongside KPJ kind of calms everything down). They lead the NBA in total assists over the 5 game winning streak.
4. As far as Green, we have not seen him play since they gave up the 2 big lineup. I think he will finally be able to show what he can do when he returns with that spacing.

Edit:
5. Defense. They have become a top 10 defensive team over the past few games.

6. Less 'my turn, your turn' now that KPJ and Green aren't 'fighting' over possessions (and yes I know they weren't really fighting but hopefully you get what I mean). Kind of ties in with your #3 a bit though.
7. Rumors of firing Silas might have fired up the team that seem to like playing for him
8. They've played 3 bad teams during the win streak.

DroseReturnChi · Post #20 » by **DroseReturnChi** » Sun Dec 5, 2021 5:03 am

tundraknight wrote:
GSP wrote:No Jalen Green to anchor the tank anymore.............Their best rookie is still playing tho Sengun

Sengun was a great pick. I’m surprised the Spurs passed on him.

good teams dont pick players who dont play lick of defense. 99% of the time these players fail bc of lack of worth ethic/motor.
shows how good of a player sengun is sabonis lite.