
It's been a rough stretch for the Rockets. Composite image by Jack Brame.
The Houston Rockets have lost their last five out of six games, including going 0-4 without Christian Wood in the lineup. Thursday night's loss versus the Miami Heat was deflating. A plethora of missed threes, bad offensive sequences, and three missed opportunities in the Heat's last possession of the game were big factors in the loss. In the Rockets' press conference, Stephen Silas' frustration showed because of another loss and two more injured players.
Silas apologized twice because of his short responses during his time with the media. The Rockets defense has still been stellar besides two blown-out losses versus the New Orleans Pelicans and Charlotte Hornets. As I dove deeper in the Rockets' losses, there was not enough impactful offensive opportunities. Victor Oladipo's efficiency is down, Wood is still limping from his ankle injury, and PJ Tucker's impact is questionable. Another thing that bothered me is the continuous nights of swap outs between John Wall and Oladipo.
There is an understanding of Wall and Oladipo's injury limitations. The last time the Rockets maxed out Wall's minutes it caused ACL soreness inside his knee. So, I understand the frustration Silas expressed when Oladipo and Tucker went out with injuries against the Heat. Hopefully, Wood can overcome his ankle injury soon.
Oladipo hasn't quite found his stride with the Rockets outside of two games. Coach Silas seems confident that Oladipo will turn it around.
"Victor's gonna get there. Hopefully, his injury isn't too bad. He is a big part of what we do, and one of the reasons we're top five defensively is because of Victor Oladipo," Silas said.
Oladipo's struggles could raise eyebrows in the Rockets' front office before the trade deadline.
The Rockets front office is open-minded, whether they end up flipping him … or whether they decide he is a piece that they want to move forward with," Tim MacMahon said on SNY.
Right now, Oladipo is shooting the three-ball at 29% with the Rockets, which is a career low. Oladipo's offensive rating is a 101.1 and hasn't been that low since his 2014-2015 year with the Orlando Magic. Is Oladipo's past injury affecting him? That could be possible, but Victor is still averaging 18.4 points per game. Oladipo's scoring is still shaky and non-impactful. His shooting efforts have become poor by shooting 38.6% from the field, including 44% in efficiency. Victor has struggled with his play making abilities with the Rockets. He isn't used to doing lobs or setting up teammates for easy opportunities. The "WOW" factor has been affected by injuries and not having enough reps together. Hopefully, Oladipo's injury isn't too serious, and he can turn it around shooting wise.
Another concern involves PJ Tucker and how his minutes have gotten out of control. Without Wood in the lineup, the Rockets scoring is limited. Although the Rockets show fight towards the end of games, they're 23rd in clutch scoring. Tucker cannot help the Rockets in momentum swings and clutch moments. He would be a better fit on a championship contender with multiple shooters surrounding him. Tucker isn't known for lighting up the scoreboard. His defense hasn't been good this season along with his poor shooting. PJ is shooting 38% from the field and his defensive rating became a career worse at 111.0.
As of right now, the Rockets need scoring as they are 24th in offensive efficiency in the NBA. Shockingly, as a team the Rockets are shooting 35% from three.
I want to see the Rockets' front office attack the trade deadline aggressively. Getting Zach LaVine and Aaron Gordon could help the Rockets scoring efforts improve. If Houston can find a consistent closeout scorer, they could make a strong push.
Hopefully, Silas maintains his confidence with each player. He was dealt a bad hand in his first year as a head coach, but he's handled it well overall.
Most Popular
SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome
Critical levers Astros can pull as health concerns, deadline pressures grow
Jul 10, 2025, 3:46 pm
Jake Meyers is the latest Astro to be rushed back from injury too soon. Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images.
Houston center fielder Jake Meyers was removed from Wednesday night’s game against Cleveland during pregame warmups because of right calf tightness.
Meyers, who had missed the last two games with a right calf injury, jogged onto the field before the game but soon summoned the training staff, who joined him on the field to tend to him. He remained on the field on one knee as manager Joe Espada joined the group. After a couple minutes, Meyers got up and was helped off the field and to the tunnel in right field by a trainer.
Mauricio Dubón moved from shortstop to center field and Zack Short entered the game to replace Dubón at shortstop.
Meyers is batting .308 with three homers and 21 RBIs this season.
After the game, Meyers met with the media and spoke about the injury. Meyers declined to answer when asked if the latest injury feels worse than the one he sustained Sunday. Wow, that is not a good sign.
Asked if this calf injury feels worse than the one he sustained on Sunday, Jake Meyers looked toward a team spokesman and asked "do I have to answer that?" He did not and then politely ended the interview.
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) July 10, 2025
Lack of imaging strikes again!
The Athletic's Chandler Rome reported on Thursday that the Astros didn't do any imaging on Meyers after the initial injury. You can't make this stuff up. This is exactly the kind of thing that has the Astros return-to-play policy under constant scrutiny.
The All-Star break is right around the corner, why take the risk in playing Meyers after missing just two games with calf discomfort? The guy literally fell to the ground running out to his position before the game started. The people that make these risk vs. reward assessments clearly are making some serious mistakes.
The question remains: will the Astros finally do something about it?