Rockets Game 12 Notebook: A Missed Opportunity In The Six

Coach Stephen Silas felt the Houston Rockets missed a winnable opportunity against the Raptors Wednesday night.

HOUSTON — Coach Stephen Silas preferred to use missed opportunity when describing the Houston Rockets 116-109 loss to the Toronto Raptors Wednesday night inside Scotiabank Arena.

"Wasted has a negative comment," Silas said. "Opportunity missed maybe that does as well. But we had some opportunities, whether it was layups, missed 3's or plays we could have made." 

The Rockets trailed the Raptors by a point with six minutes left in the fourth quarter. When reflecting on his team's performance down the stretch, Silas again accredited the lack of fourth-quarter execution for Houston's loss.

While the Rockets had to depend on a pair of sophomores and rookies to make up 80 percent of their lineups in the closing minutes, the Raptors had the luxury of leaning on the services of veteran Fred VanVleet — who scored 18 of his 30 points during the second half.

But the Rockets' loss went beyond their fourth-quarter mishaps, given that the team began the night shooting 70 percent from the field while holding a 12-point first-quarter lead.

"Fred VanVleet came through for them and made some big plays," Silas said. "When he is letting it go from three, especially off the dribble, that was the biggest thing."

Silas said VanVleet took advantage of the Rockets' lack of coverage in pick-and-roll defense during the second half.

When Alperen Sengun was in the game, Silas said the Rockets were up in their coverage. When Usman Garuba made the substitution, Houston began to play drop coverage.

Silas noticed it did not matter what defensive coverage the Rockets used, VanVleet leaned on his experience to lead the Raptors to a comeback victory. VanVleet finished the game shooting 7-of-16 from behind the arc, with three coming during the final eight minutes of the fourth quarter.  

Rockets continue to showcase their improved ball movement

When assistant coach John Lucas II took over coaching duties while Silas was placed in the NBA Health and Safety Protocol, he consistently harped on ball movement.

Lucas said ahead of a preseason game in October that the target number of assists was 25, which would determine whether or not the Rockets did a good job sharing the ball.

During their 134-127 victory against the Orlando Magic Monday night, the Rockets notched a season-high 31 assists. Against the Raptors, Houston finished the night with 29. 

"We have a good group of unselfish guys," Silas said. "I continue to preach ball movement. We want to be a hard-playing team that plays together on both ends of the floor. We were that tonight. We just came up short."

Houston's ball movement was the rationale behind arguably their best quarter of the season. The Rockets held a 37-29 lead entering the second period while starting the game with 11 assists.

Kevin Porter Jr. led the way with a team-high 11 assists against the Raptors. But Jalen Green's willingness to display patience to read the court and make the extra pass stood out to Silas the most.

Silas described Green's six assists during the game as growth, especially after the 34-point performance he displayed against the Magic two nights prior. In addition to recording half a dozen assists, Green finished the game with 21 points on 12-of-18 shooting.

"It shows growth," Silas said. "The way that the defense was playing meant we were gonna have to move the ball. That was a mature game from him to have six assists after a 34-point game the night before."

A bounce back performance from Jabari Smith Jr.

After missing Saturday's contest due to the flu, Jabari Smith Jr. returned to the lineup against the Magic. He had a forgettable contest against his 2022 draftmate Paolo Banchero, as he finished with three points.

Although his shooting woes continued against the Raptors, Smith had his best performance in nearly two weeks. He finished the game with 15 points and 10 rebounds — marking the second double-double performance of his young career.

Before his performance in Toronto, Smith had averaged 4.3 points on 20.0 percent shooting from the field and 4.3 rebounds the previous four games. 

Quick Hits:

- Alperen Sengun recorded 17 points and eight rebounds in 30 minutes of play.

- Tari Eason recorded 14 points, six rebounds, five assists and five steals and is averaging 13.0 points amid Houston's recent road trip.  

- After making 24 3-pointers in the win against the Orlando Magic Monday night, the Rockets shot 25.7 percent from behind the arc against the Raptors with nine made triples.

---