Losing streak goes to 11 as Grizzlies maul Rockets 133-84

Tonight’s Rockets offense could be described in a number of ways: dismal, terrible, bad, wretched, horrendous, embarrassing.

That would be unfair, for it to be those things, it would have to exist.

Right now, the Rockets have a putative NBA offense that struggled to break 80 points against an indifferent Memphis Grizzlies starting unit (and fired up bench).

The Rockets starting lineup scored 35 points. Total.

The Grizzly bench scored 85 points. The Houston Rockets scored 84 points. The Memphis bench outscored the entire Rockets team. The Memphis Grizzly bench doubled the scoring output of the Rockets starters.

James Harden once scored 27 in a quarter, and 60 in three quarters, personally. Losing a franchise player is like this. Exactly like this. It’s why teams put up with all kinds of annoying behavior.

There might be encouragement for the “get a top four pick” faction here, but it’s difficult to see how an utter collapse like this is helpful. Losses, certainly, but losses that indicate that the frame, or at least the second unit, of a competent team exists, and is awaiting a major player, would be better. Collapses seem less useful.

The Rockets could well be better that this, at the very least. They certainly looked better when Christian Wood played. A team that shoots 8.9% from 3pt range, on high volume (4-45), needs hope wherever they can find it. Currently the Rockets get the highest percentage of wide-open looks at three point shots, and make the lowest percentage of three point shots in the NBA.

It’s not just offense that’s the problem, however. The Rockets were nearly out rebounded by 20 rebounds. They gave up 133 points. It’s easy to feel bad for Stephen Silas, but also, questions have to arise at some point. Where is the clever offense? Why does this team struggle to break 100 points?

Unlike most games, the Rockets did get to the free throw line a staggering 41 times. Perhaps this was mercy on the part of the officials, as the Rockets managed only 50 points from field goals, because not only was the 3pt shooting bad, ALL the Rockets shooting was bad.

If a team can’t make jump shots, it needs an offense that generates open shots through movement, actions towards the basket, multiple screens, and lookdlesser offensive talents can make. That may seem so very last millennium but the Spurs have done fairly well with such schemes.

Perhaps the goal isn’t to win games, and this is nothing but a holding pattern until the trade deadline, and Christian Wood returns. If so, mission accomplished so far, but this can’t be doing much for the value of Victor Oladipo, PJ Tucker and perhaps, Eric Gordon.

There’s really nothing good to say about this game from a Rockets perspective, except that it ended, it’s just one loss, and only the little-used Rodions Kurucs got hurt (assuming Tate’s eye is ok). So that’s something.

There is no “light in the darkness” to be found within this game. None.