Three things we saw in Houston Rockets loss to Bulls

In their first stop of a 5-game Eastern road trip the Houston Rockets lost to the Bulls and did nothing to scare their competition. Here’s 3 things we saw.

The Texan team keeps making the same old mistakes: lack of a reliable defense and insistence on shooting three-pointers regardless of whether they are falling or are the best options. The only thing different was Michael Beasley who played his first game as a Rocket and now has a chance to resume his NBA career.

From what Beasley was able to showcase last night, Houston Rockets fans should not be expecting any fireworks any time soon.

Here are Three Takeaways from Rockets stop in Illinois.

Donatas Motiejunas Basketball I.Q.

I’ve mentioned it last night that D-Mo is helping the team in many ways when he is in court. Take a look below at how the Lithuanian big guy only through his positioning opens up the lane and clears space for Trevor Ariza’s drive and dunk:

That’s not all as D-Mo is probably one of the few 7 footers who masterfully uses his height to block shots without committing defensive fouls.

He jumps up and down with his hands raised making the shot more difficult as opposed to trying to go for the block and grabbing a piece of the adversary, though in fairness he did make that error a couple times as well.

It’s highly effective and highlights Donatas Motiejunas good judgement seeing as he is not an effective shot blocker rather he uses his height to his advantage.

Dwight Howard’s Lack of Effort

This has actually been highlighted through the broadcast, but if you missed it or didn’t quite comprehend what the fuss was all about, take a look:

In this play Dwight Howard simply points to where the Rockets defender should be, but in regards to himself does nothing to stop E’Twaun Moore’s drive.

Next: enjoy Howard’s beautiful pass to Bulls’ bench.

I’m sorry, that’s a lazy pass, not a mistake.

But the one that had people aggravated was a play at the end of the game when losing by just 4 points, Howard could’ve stolen the ball and given the Rockets a life line, but instead was casually strolling through the court. Next, he fouled out.

Yeah that was enough Howard.

What about Michael Beasley?

Yeah, let’s take our time on this one.

For what it’s worth, Beasley was aggressive in his 4 minutes of playing action, he fired away five times but only connected once. He is clearly not fully conditioned but may be helpful offensively and could offer a bump from the bench.

What I’m struggling to figure out is if he could be of any help to the Rockets defensively where it matters most.

It makes me wonder: why exactly did the Houston Rockets waive Marcus Thornton?

Let’s wait and see how Beasley re-adjusts to life in the NBA.

Next: Game Day Preview: Rockets vs Raptors

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