The Rockets believe they may be in trouble (not really) with their lackluster effort in games recently. The Rockets had dropped their first game against the Timberwolves in Game 3 on Saturday night, and the Rockets were still shooting poorly, but the thing that didn’t let them come back was their defense. They had clawed back numerous times only to allow the Timberwolves to stretch the lead back to where it was. James Harden has said that the Rockets aren’t in the rhythm that they were in during the regular season.
The Rockets may have wanted to sweep; however, their play would not allow them too as they dropped their first game in the playoffs against the Timberwolves as they lost 121-105. James Harden and Mike D’Antoni had some words that the Rockets no longer have the rhythm that they did in the regular season. Mike knows how important rhythm can be, especially in such a heavy 3-point shooting offense. The Rockets haven’t been in sync since the start of playoffs and even ending the regular season as the team ended on an easy schedule and allowed their players to rest (which is probably still the best thing to do). By doing this though, the Rockets allowed their primary scorers and players to get rustier than they should be towards the end of the season. The Rockets are still without defensive Forward Luc Mbah A Moute and will most likely be without him for the rest of this first round. However, Luc is fighting back strongly and could maybe even push in a surprise appearance and could fix some shooting woes for the team.
While losing this game is not the end of the world (Every team drops a game or two in a series), this could be setting up some interesting emotions throughout Minnesota’s home court for the next game, and if needed game 6. The Rockets hope to ax off the Timberwolves sooner, but it may be a tougher challenge than expected.
