After compiling a league best 65-17 record last season, the Houston Rockets are off to a disappointing 1-5 start this year, leading head coach Mike D’Antoni to speculate that his team has lost the confidence that propelled them to Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals last year.
Houston has been poor on defense, but has also failed to find an offensive spark so far, scoring just 105.8 points per game – 26th in the league this season.
“We’ve lost our swagger and we’re on our heels,” D’Antoni told reporters after a 104-85 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday.
Rockets Offense ‘Goes Bad’
That game marked the third time already this season that the Rockets have lost by at least 15 points, matching the number of times that happened all of last year. While the defense looked competent on Tuesday, Houston couldn’t seem to accomplish anything on offense: their 85-point total was lower than their scoring output in all but the final game of last season, a contest in which most of the team’s best players sat on the bench.
While some of the Tuesday struggles can be attributed to the absence of James Harden, who was sitting out with a strained left hamstring, that doesn’t fully explain why the Rockets can’t seem to get out of their own way so far this year.
“When it goes bad, it goes bad,” Rockets forward Carmelo Anthony said after the game. “Right now, I think we’ve just got to keep biting at it, keep fighting, keep playing. I’m big on staying the course and figuring it out.”
D’Antoni believes that his team might be pressing a bit, which could be causing players to struggle offensively.
“When you’re desperate, it’s good on defense because your hair should be on fire, but it’s bad on offense,” D’Antoni told reporters. “Tonight, it was like we were pretty good defensively for most of the game, but offensively, we weren’t calm and didn’t have that poise and just didn’t hit anything for a while.”
Too Early to Give Up on Houston
While Houston fans may already be growing nervous, there is reason to think it’s not yet time to panic. Between Harden’s injury and a two-game suspension earlier this season for Chris Paul, the Rockets haven’t had much of a chance to play a full-strength lineup so far this year. And while it can be hard to remember, it’s still very early in the season, as D’Antoni reminded reporters on Tuesday night.
“I’ll ask the analytical guys, but I think we’re still in it mathematically,” he said. “We’ll figure it out, but we’ve got to play well. The sooner, the better.”
While six games doesn’t define a season, the Rockets start has been bad enough to make at least a small impression on bettors. At William Hill, Houston’s odds have drifted out to 9/1, making them a clear third choice behind the favored Golden State Warriors (8/15) and the leading contender out of the Eastern Conference, the Boston Celtics (7/1).