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.
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With the Astros now officially ten games under .500 for the season, manager Joe Espada is taking a lot of heat from the fanbase for the team's struggles.
While we don't agree with the sentiment, we even hear fans clamoring for the return of Dusty Baker and Martin Maldonado, thinking the Astros wouldn't be in this mess if they were still here.
Which is ridiculous. First of all, Maldonado has been awful for the White Sox, hitting .048 (even worse than Jose Abreu's .065). And for those of you that think his work with the pitching staff justifies his pathetic offense. Let me say this: Where was Maldy's game calling genius for Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier, and Framber Valdez last year? All of them regressed significantly.
And as far as Baker is concerned, we have no idea how much a difference he would make, we can only speculate. Baker would also be dealing with a pitching staff ravaged with injuries. And let's not forget, Baker was the guy that refused to move Jose Abreu down in the batting order, even though he would finish the regular season with the ninth-worst OPS in baseball.
The reality of the situation is managers can only do so much in baseball. Which leads us to something else that needs to be considered. Is Espada being handcuffed by the front office? Espada and GM Dana Brown both said recently that Jon Singleton was going to get more at-bats while they give Abreu time off to try to figure things out. Yet, there Abreu was in the lineup again in the opening game of the Cubs series.
It makes us wonder how much power does Espada truly have? The Astros have some other options at first base. Yainer Diaz may only have eight games played at the position, but how much worse could he be than Abreu defensively? Abreu already has four errors, and Diaz is obviously a way better hitter. Victor Caratini isn't considered a plus offensive player, but his .276 batting average makes him look like Babe Ruth compared to Abreu. Let him catch more often and play Diaz at first. Starting Diaz at first more often could also lengthen his career long-term.
Maybe that's too wild of a move. Okay, fine. How about playing Mauricio Dubon at first base? I understand he doesn't have much experience at that position, but what's the downside of trying him there? If he can play shortstop, he can play first base. He's driving in runs at a higher rate (11 RBIs) than everyone on the team outside of Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez. And he's producing like that as part-time player right now.
The other criticism we see of Espada is his use of Jon Singleton to pinch hit late in games. Let's be real, though, who else does Espada have on the roster to go to? Batting Abreu late in games in which you're trailing should be considered malpractice. Espada can only use who he has to work with. This all really stems from the Astros poor farm system.
They don't have anyone else to turn to. The draft picks the club lost from the sign-stealing scandal are really hurting them right now. First and second rounders from 2020 and 2021 should be helping you in 2024 at the big league level.
Maybe they go to Astros prospect Joey Loperfido soon, but after a hot start he has only two hits in his last six games.
Finally, we have to talk about what seems like a committee making baseball decisions. Lost in a committee is accountability. Who gets the blame for making poor decisions?
As time continues to pass it looks like moving on from former GM James Click was a massive mistake. He's the guy that didn't sign Abreu, but did trade Myles Straw (recently DFA'd) for Yainer Diaz and Phil Maton. He also built an elite bullpen without breaking the bank, and helped the club win a World Series in 2022.
The reality of the situation is Dusty Baker and James Click are not walking back through that door. And all good runs come to an end at some point. Is this what we're witnessing?
Don't miss the video above as we hit on all the points discussed and much more!
Catch Stone Cold 'Stros (an Astros podcast) with Charlie Pallilo, Brandon Strange, and Josh Jordan. We drop two episodes every week on SportsMapHouston's YouTube channel. You can also listen on Apple Podcast, Spotifyor wherever you get your podcasts.