Houston Rockets Show No Effort in Loss

The Houston Rockets‘ lack of effort cost them the game again, with a 107-98 loss to the Denver Nuggets Friday, in the Pepsi Center.

107. 73. . 98. 169

The Rockets started the game missing more lay-ups than a YMCA little league team. Although James Harden got off to a fast start with 11 in his first nine minutes, but the rest of his team shot 18.8 percent from the field.

Not only did they struggle offensively, but on the defensive end as well. If fans did not think it could get any worse during the first half, Patrick Beverley left the game midway in the second with a left ankle injury.

Pat Beverley leaving in a walking boot and crutches on sprained left ankle.

— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) November 14, 2015

However, in the second half, The Rockets picked up their defensive intensity and played more team basketball, but the Nuggets continue to out play Houston on both ends of the court.

Rockets Player Grades

C. Houston Rockets. DWIGHT HOWARD. C+. <span class=

C-. 5 points, 2 rebounds, 13 minutes -A surprise in the starting lineup, Harrell got his first start of his career. He had a solid game as a starter and made a few plays here and there. Hopefully Harrell took notes from Nuggets’ <span class=. PF. Houston Rockets. MONTREZL HARRELL

C-. 13 points, 3 rebounds, 38 minutes- Ariza had a solid night, but is still struggling to start the season. So far Ariza is not making the kind of impact Houston fans thought he would have. If McHale is trusting to play Ariza 38 minutes, he has to grab more than 3 rebounds in a game. . SF. Houston Rockets. TREVOR ARIZA

B-. 28 points, 8 rebounds, 38 minutes- It was a good game for Harden as he shot a good percentage from the field shooting 47 percent. However, Harden had several chances to take over the game on the offensive end, but came up short when Houston needed him the most.. SG. Houston Rockets. JAMES HARDEN

D-. 0 points, 7 assists, 34 minutes- It is taking Lawson a long time to get accustomed in Houston. Playing against his old team in Denver, fans thought Lawson was going to have a break out game, but ended up with a big disappointment. In 38 minutes he could not make one basket! Lawson shot 0-7 from the field! Hopefully Lawson can turn his season around and stop playing like a bum! . PG. Houston Rockets. TY LAWSON

Best Reserve

PF. Houston Rockets. TERRENCE JONES. B+. Finally! Welcome back Terence Jones! Jones was by far the biggest factor off the bench. He played like a player who is ready to reclaim his spot back in the starting lineup. This was Jones’ best game of the season, and was the most effective player off the bench. Jones not only had a great game offensively, but was the Rockets’ best defensive player tonight.<span style=

Terrence Jones stuffs Kenneth Faried on consecutive shots. https://t.co/NlM4DXJcO4

— ClutchFans (@clutchfans) November 14, 2015

Best Opponent:

A. Gallinari is one of the most underrated players in this league. Unfortunately injuries have slowed him down, but Gallinari can still light a team up on any given night. The Rockets had no answer for him tonight as Gallinari shot a ridiculous 77.8 percent from the field.. SF. Denver Nuggets. DANILO GALLINARI

3 Things We Saw

Second Chance Points & Rebounding:The Nuggets do not have an elite big man, and still outrebounded the Rockets 56-48 Friday night. Houston also continued to give up too many second chance points. For the season, The Rockets are giving up 16.2 second chance points per game, and against Denver gave up 15 points in the first half.

Bad Shot selections When will the Rockets learn to stop taking so many 3-point shots, and drop it inside to the low post. In the first half they shot 25 percent from three, and ended the game shooting 9-29 from downtown. When the Rockets started taking the ball inside more, they cut the lead down to one. However, once they starting shooting 3-point shots again, they fell behind 100-89 late in the fourth. The Rockets have to learn how to take more high percentage shots and stop relying on the 3-point shot so much.

Defense:“Oh where, oh where, has their defense gone? Oh where, oh where, can it be?”The Rockets are playing some of their worse defense in years. There were moments where they stood around on defense and watch the Nuggets take wide open shots, and give up clear lanes to the basket for easy dunks. The Lack of defense is the main reason Houston came up short in this game.

Next: Missing Motiejunas

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