Rock bottom
The Rockets report, brought to you by APG&E: Rockets lose to Lakers in Houston 124-115
Jan 19, 2020, 12:02 am
Rock bottom
The Rockets have had a number of must-win games this season, but this was one was at the top of the list. Having had two team "discussions" going into tonight, Houston's team morale going into this one was questionable at best. A win over the top-seeded Los Angeles Lakers could have certainly helped spark some momentum that they desperately need right now.
Mike D'Antoni: "We're not playing well right now. We haven't played well for about a couple weeks... It's not fun f… https://t.co/wlEmpRfbYY— Salman Ali (@Salman Ali) 1579408134.0
Houston actually started this game the appropriate fear, but that seemed to dissipate as the game went along, particularly in the third quarter where things went completely arry for the Rockets. In addition to poor shooting (1 of 11 from three-point range), the Rockets turned the ball over 6 times, made silly fouls to compound their mistakes, and could not seem to defend the Lakers in transition.
"We just didn't make plays," said Mike D'Antoni after the game. "Then we turned it over a couple times, they got out on the break. We ran them the first half and they upped their pace and ran us the second half."
The Rockets had as many turnovers (20) as assists tonight. This is the worst team to do that against as the Lakers are 10-0 when forcing 20+ turnovers this season.
There's little doubt that this was a make-or-break game for the Rockets given that they lost 3 out of their last 4 before tonight, but it is up to them on if they'll actually break. Publicly, they've kept a brave face, but talk is cheap. There needs to be concrete improvement they can to point to and aside from the first 24 minutes of tonight's game, that's been hard to find.
Russell Westbrook: "Got to stay positive. Like I said the other day, in adversity, what are you going to do? You go… https://t.co/weesRqYGNO— Salman Ali (@Salman Ali) 1579409996.0
Star of the game: Despite the poor team play, Russell Westbrook has held his own as of late. Tonight, Westbrook had 35 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 steals on 15 of 23 shooting from the field. Westbrook has had at least 30 points and 5 assists in each of the Rockets' last four games.
Honorable mention: His defense wasn't great tonight, but James Harden did find a way to also fill the stat sheet in Houston's loss. Harden was dealing with an aggressive Lakers trap all night, but still managed to get 34 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds, and 1 block on 60.9% true shooting tonight. Again, I'm sure Harden himself wouldn't put this among his proudest performances however.
Key moment: The Rockets were playing really great in the first half on both ends. James Harden was deferring because of Los Angeles' traps, Russell Westbrook was rolling (22 points on 9 of 12 shooting from the field), and Clint Capela was playing very well defensively (9 rebounds, 3 blocks, and a +/- of +9). Things completely for turned for Houston in the third quarter, however. Technical fouls were flying, offensive fouls were being drawn on both ends, and the Rockets lost the lead in the chaos of the opening minutes. Offensively, the Rockets were atrocious in the third quarter (17 points scored on 1 of 11 shooting from three-point range) and defensively, the Lakers ran the ball down Houston's throat.
Mike D'Antoni on what went wrong offensively in the 3rd quarter: "We just didn't make plays... Then we turned it ov… https://t.co/widnd8TJxf— Salman Ali (@Salman Ali) 1579407886.0
Up next: The Rockets play the Oklahoma City Thunder in Houston at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday.
The Houston Astros are looking to avoid an unexpected sweep Wednesday night as they wrap up their three-game set against the Cleveland Guardians at Daikin Park.
Winners of six of their last ten despite back-to-back losses, the Astros (55-37) turn to left-hander Brandon Walter (1-1, 4.15 ERA) to steady the ship and salvage the finale. Walter has been reliable in his recent outings, and he’ll face a Guardians lineup that has struggled to string together hits, batting just .204 over their last 10 games.
Cleveland (42-48) entered the series on a 10-game losing streak, but now has a chance to sweep the AL West leaders and take the season series. Slade Cecconi (3-4, 3.56 ERA) gets the start for the Guardians. The 26-year-old righty has kept his ERA under 4.00 this year and will look to neutralize a Houston offense that leads the American League in batting average at .260 and is hitting .295 over the last 10 games.
All eyes remain on Jose Altuve, who has driven in 16 runs and slugged four homers over his last 10 games. He’s been the heartbeat of the Houston offense, while Isaac Paredes continues to deliver steady power at the top of the lineup. The Astros have scored five or more runs in eight of their last ten games, but the bullpen faltered late in both of the first two games of this series.
Cleveland counters with the steady presence of Carlos Santana and the always-dangerous Jose Ramirez. Though Ramirez is just 6-for-38 in his last 10 games, he’s delivered key home runs in the series and remains the Guardians’ biggest threat.
With the season series now 3-2 in favor of Cleveland, Wednesday’s matchup carries added weight for the Astros as they look to regroup and avoid letting momentum slip further. First pitch is set for 8:10 p.m. ET.
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Astros -144, Guardians +121; over/under is 8 runs
Astros lineup for the finale
What stands out? First off, Jake Meyers returns to the lineup after missing a couple of games with a calf issue. With Meyers back in the two-spot, Cam Smith returns to hitting cleanup. Caratini is playing first base again and hitting fifth, followed by Yainer Diaz (C), Cooper Hummel (DH), Taylor Trammell (LF), and Mauricio Dubon (SS).
Image via: MLB.com/Screenshot.
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