Rockets Aim To Regroup In Hopes Of Building Confidence Following All-Star Break
The Houston Rockets are entering the All-Star break following a 133-96 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder Wednesday night inside the Paycom Center.
The Rockets hold the league's worst record at 13-45. And with 24 games left in the 2022-23 campaign, Jabari Smith Jr. says the goal will be all about winning to build confidence heading into the off-season.
"It's going to be about us building momentum going into next season," Smith said. "We have to find those things guys have improved on and finish the season on a good note. If we finish the season off like this, we are not going to go into the summer with confidence."
Smith believes the team has improved since the start of the season. But he said the same issues continue to plague the Rockets on a nightly basis.
Against the Thunder, Smith said Houston came out with the right mindset. But after six technical fouls in the first quarter, three coming against the Rockets, they began to worry about the wrong things.
Smith credited the Rockets' bad performance to not playing tough, a lack of communication on defense and they kept looking for the officials to bail them out. He described the outcome of the first quarter as a ripple effect, which set the tone for the remainder of the night.
He finished the game with a team-high 15 points (4-5 FG, 2-4 3PT), nine rebounds, two blocks and a pair of steals.
Coach Stephen Silas says he doesn't believe Houston "let go of the rope" in its loss to Oklahoma City. But he does believe his team could have played better.
"We need to regroup over the break," coach Stephen Silas said. "I am going to take some time over the break and not think about it for a little while. But then, I am going to take a good amount to figure out what the next 24 games will look like."
Making adjustments to the rotation is a point of emphasis Silas made following Houston's loss. He said players took the court against the Thunder, who never played a second with each other.
Although the unfamiliarity was due to injuries, the results led to the Rockets being disjointed on both ends.
The success Houston experienced while playing zone defense was the lone positive Silas said he could take from the game.
"Tonight, was bad, and our concentration wasn't there," Silas said. "We had layups that we were missing. We had open shots. But we were missing. The drives hurt us. They were driving, and it's hard to help when they're driving that way. We have to come together as a group, especially on the defensive end."
You can follow Coty M. Davis on Twitter at @CotyDavis_24
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