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Yep you read that correctly, the Houston Rockets are currently on two game winning streak! fans rejoice!
This may sound over the top, but when you take in consideration that the Rockets are 17 - 52, which makes them the second worst team in basketball as the Detroit Pistons lay claim to that (dis)honor of worst.
Fans should take time to savor every win they get since they’re so far and few in between.
Despite the score the game wasn’t really as close advertised. Let's go over the reasons why.
Rockets dominated in the paint
Have you ever witness an adult playing basketball against a child on a Fisher Price hoop? It’s usually an ugly sight to witness, as you see the adult constantly posterizing the child and getting any look he/she wants.
That’s what it was like during this matchup. The Los Angeles Lakers were the child and the Houston Rockets played the role of the adult.
Houston took advantage of the fact that the Los Angeles had weak frontline as Lebron James, Anthony Davis, and Mo Bamba were all ruled out for the game.
The Rockets used this as their advantage and proceeded to score 78 of the 114 points in the paint, as the Lakers looked hopeless trying to make it stop.
Houston is 24/32 at the rim tonight (75%).
— Cranjis McBasketball (@Tim_NBA) March 16, 2023
The Lakers have attempted 6 fewer shots at the rim than Houston has made.
LA is 9/18 at the rim (50%).
Houston made LA look small
Would you believe a team that had lost the turnover battle 8 to 17, shot 63 percent from the free throw line while only having a measly seven fastbreak points should win a basketball game?
Nope, but it didn’t matter.
Remember the fisher price analogy I made earlier? Houston really just bullied them.
Houston won the rebounding battle 36 to 51, which aided them in the pursuit of second-chance points.
The funny thing about this is, there was no player on the Rockets bench that had double digit rebounding numbers, this was accomplished through rebounding by committee.
Every player on the team that played had at least one rebound, while Alperen Sengun & Kevin Porter Jr led the team with 9 boards a piece.
KPJ was pushing ️
I don’t care if the phrase ‘pushing ️’ is old, or if the rapper who coined it is disgraced for cooperating with the police.
The phrase still is catchy and it applies to Kevin Porter Jr. play last night.
KPJ finished the night with 27 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists and 1 steal. While having shooting splits of 69/40/75.
Kevin Porter Jr’s presence was felt from tipoff all the way to the end of the game with fancy plays like this:
When Kevin Porter Jr. has it going, you get plays like this. He’s so skilled. pic.twitter.com/WVMUqrylkI
— V̷a̷t̷o̷r̷ (@Vator_H_Town) March 16, 2023
or this:
K P J @Kevinporterjr (27 PTS | 9 REB | 6 AST) trascina gli @HoustonRockets alla vittoria sui Lakers! pic.twitter.com/ISC9MEgc9D
— NBA Italia (@NBAItalia) March 16, 2023
OR THIS:
This stepback from Kevin Porter Jr. was filthy… pic.twitter.com/WdcNsAmmQw
— Bradeaux (@BradeauxNBA) March 16, 2023
There was a moment in the game, where Rockets fans everywhere had to take a deep breath as KPJ was bleeding profusely after getting scrapped in the eye, from contending a shot from D’Angelo Russell in which his follow though grazed his face.
Anybody who’s been paying attention to the KPJ this season is that this man can never catch a break, he's been in out and out of the lineup due to a series of lower extremity contusions.
It was a sigh of relief knowing that the injury was not only serious enough to stop his stellar play but to continue it.
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