The Rockets got what Sting once called “a humiliating kick in the crotch” over the weekend. Despite holding Golden State again to just 104 points, they again couldn’t keep up only dropping in 93 in the Bay Area. It puts the Warriors up 2-1 in the series with one game left on their home court. This stung particularly badly because Jimmy Butler was on the bench after the hard fall he took in Game 2.
This whole series has raised a lot of questions about this Rockets squad, but let’s hit the most pressing four.
How are they going to score?
If we are being honest, the Rockets really only have two viable scoring options: Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun. Everyone else adds their part, but they are the most dynamic scorers on the team. With Green muzzled by double and triple teams, Sengun struggled to make shots. After Fred VanVleet’s first quarter explosion, he went back to missing shots along with everyone else.
Make no mistake, Green must get better. He showed tremendous durability and heartening consistency throughout the season, but he is too easily taken out of the game by pressure defenses. He won’t solve it in the postseason, but he and the Rockets staff have their work cut out for them in the summer.
Speaking of summer workouts, Amen Thompson absolutely has to acquire even a marginal jumpshot and Sengun should shoot roughly 100,000 free throws per day until he can hit at least 70 percent of them.
Can they even think about containing Steph Curry?
Speaking of stepping up, Curry has been the poster child for that on a team that has a lot of holes to fill. He dropped another 30-plus piece on the Rockets who did everything they could to contain him. He hit crazy shots for anyone not named Steph Curry and, in the end, the Rockets simply could not hold him down enough. Maybe he could work out with Green in the offseason. It’s particularly painful to watch the Rockets get taken down by the guy who has ripped their hearts out so many times for over a decade.
How does Jimmy Butler’s potential return change things?
There is some optimism from Golden State that Butler will play in Game 4. It wouldn’t be a surprise if he was limited in his return but anything from “playoff Jimmy” will be a problem for the Rockets. It’s tough enough holding down Curry, but when he has help, it’s damn near impossible. Whatever shape Butler is in, this will be a huge challenge for Ime Udoka and his squad.
If defense wins championships, what the hell, man?
This is the second best defensive team in the league and they have, throughout this series, held down a very good offensive team in Golden State. And yet… The old adage about defense can certainly be true, but in the modern NBA, you cannot regularly score under 100 and expect to win, especially under the microscope of the postseason. A better saying for this series is “the best defense is a good offense.” Failing that, the Rockets need some semblance of balance or this series is going to be done quickly.
