HOUSTON (SportsRadio 610)- The Rockets' bid to end a four-year playoff drought got off to a shaky start with Wednesday’s 110-105 loss to the Charlotte Hornets.
Forty-eight hours after signing contract extensions, Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun combined for 53 points, but offense was a struggle throughout. Here are three takeaways from opening night.
Tale of two halves
In building an 18-point first half lead, the Rockets played to their blueprint. They defended, they rebounded, and they got out in transition. They did none of those things after the break
“I just think the effort went down,” Rockets guard Jalen Green said.
The Rockets held the Hornets to 36 percent shooting in the first, but saw that number jump to 54 percent in the second half.
The Rockets outrebounded the Pelicans 31-23 and grabbed 11 offensive rebounds in the first half, but they lost the rebounding battle 33-12 after halftime, and grabbed just five offensive rebounds.
The Rockets scored 10 fastbreak points in the first half, but came away with just three in the second half.
Houston shot less than 40 percent from the field and connected on just 7-of-22 three-point attempts in the first half, but still led by double digits at the break because it did other things at a high level. Failure to do those things in the second half made poor shooting too much to overcome.
“The things we did do when the shots weren’t falling was continue to guard, we let go of the rope as far as that in the second half,” Rockets head coach Ime Udoka said. “We let go of the rope as far as that in the second half, and we gave up 61 (points). “Shots aren't always going to fall. You can still rely on your defense and continue to play the right way, and do the little things, like we did in the first half, which is offensive rebound and keep them off the glass, and it kind of flipped in the second half.”
Brick City
The Rockets finished last season with the eighth worst shooting percentage in the NBA from behind the three-point line, and they picked up right where they left off on Wednesday. Against the Hornets, Houston connected on just 13-of-43 attempts from long distance, which included a 2-for-11 night from Fred VanVleet, who missed his first seven, and a 5-for-15 outing from Jalen Green, who started 3-for-4.
Even though the shots didn’t go in, Udoka said he was happy with his team’s shot quality.
"Fred is getting wide open looks,” he said. “I don't think he's going to go 2-for-11 that often or 4-for-18, so that stands out, and Jalen, even the 5-for-15, wide open looks, you make 2-3 more of those and they adjust some. You want guys to stay confident and take those shots."
Here are all the three-point attempts taken by VanVleet and Green on Wednesday:
Sengun fades after a great start
Fresh off signing his five-year, $185 million extension, Sengun was the best player on the floor for the first 24 minutes of Wednesday’s game. He put up 19 points and 13 rebounds, including five offensive rebounds, in less than 18 first half minutes, but he finished the second half with just six points, on 3-of-9 shooting, and five rebounds, one offensive.
“They sent some doubles a few times in the post, but I think more of more of us than what they did,” Udoka said. “They put Grant Williams on him, and switched some matchups, but he had point blank layups a few times that he missed, so I wouldn't say it was a lot that they did, other than us rushing and being a little sloppy at times.”
"I was just missing shots today (that) normally I'm not missing,” Sengun said. “I wasn't my best today."
The Rockets shot just 43 percent on shots from inside the paint, and Sengun’s 8-of-19 was a reason why, but the Rockets center did shoot 2-of-3 from behind the three-point line, and 3-of-4 from the free throw line which is a step in the right direction.