Even the best coaches go through rough patches. And though it's too early to call Stephen Silas one of the best coaches in the game — this is his first season as a head coach, in fact — he can't be totally at fault for the almost incomprehensible losing streak that the Houston Rockets extended to 20 games on Sunday night.
With a heartbreaking 114-112 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, they became just the 13th team in NBA history to break that 20-game threshold (via Stathead).
Process-era 76ers fans are familiar with a couple of the dry spells on the above list, but that doesn't mean that Brett Brown was a bad coach. In fact, just two years after the 10-72 Sixers broke their 28-game losing streak and an 0-18 start to the 2015-16 season, Brown went 52-30 to finish in third place in the East.
But for right now, it's not easy for Rockets fans to watch, nor is it fun for Silas to go through. And regardless of what team you're a fan of, you had to feel for the guy after watching his press conference on Sunday night.
Apparently, everything he's going through and his display of emotion in the press conference led to a lot of support from fellow coaches who have gone through rough patches themselves.
Rivers, for instance, went on an 18-game losing streak with the 2006-07 Celtics and was able to turn that into a championship the next season with, you know, just a couple of minor Hall of Fame acquisitions. It was all success for Kerr as a head coach until he lost Steph Curry and Klay Thompson to injury and Kevin Durant to the Nets, leading to a 15-50 season in 2020 that included a 10-game losing streak.
So, it happens. What happens to the Rockets and to Silas next, however, is uncertain. They have a chance to end the losing streak on Monday night against a Raptors team that's struggling as much as anyone, losing eight straight games themselves. This, along with matchups against the LaMelo Ball-less Hornets and the lowly Timberwolves, all present good opportunities to add a tally to the W column.
If they can't get a win in one of these next four, however, they could be heading straight to the part of the history books every franchise dreams of avoiding.
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