The Rockets were two games away from playing in the NBA Finals last season. Early this season, they are struggling just to get to .500.
The Rockets fell to 4-7 on Monday after a 111-95 loss to the Celtics in which they trailed by as many as 29 points. They have now lost four games in a row, the franchise’s longest losing streak since it lost seven straight in January 2013. The team had a players-only meeting to try to figure out where they went wrong.
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The meeting was called by point guard Ty Lawson, who has been one of the most disappointing performers on the team this season. Lawson came to Houston from Denver via trade in the offseason. So far he’s averaging 8.9 points and 5.6 assists while shooting 33 percent from the field.
"Coaches say, 'Run this pick-and-roll coverage.' We were calling something totally different,” Lawson said, via the Houston Chronicle. "No matter what the coaches say, we need to do. We need to be on the same page. For the most part, I think we got everything in order.”
James Harden, last year’s NBA MVP runner-up, agreed that the meeting was productive.
"It was a good talk. We hadn't communicated like that since season's been going,” Harden said. “Now, it's about carrying over."
Houston's defense has been atrocious. The team is allowing 108.5 points per game, third-worst in the league. They also average just 100.8 points per game, 27.8 coming from Harden alone.
Coach Kevin McHale said his team simply needs to execute better. And soon.
Kevin McHale listed Rockets issues, shortcomings, ended with: “We got to start making some plays. We made enough excuses."
— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) November 17, 2015