Rockets drop to 0-5 without Chris Paul in lineup in loss to Mavs

The Houston Rockets have lost once again, this time to the in-state rival Dallas Mavericks.

The Houston Rockets have been embarrassed once again. The Dallas Mavericks came into the Toyota Center and dominated the Rockets in every way.

This was a tough loss for the Rockets as they move to 9-11 so far on the season. With or without Chris Paul, this was a game that Houston should have if they want to be treated as a contender in the league.

Speaking of CP3, his impact on the team is huge. The Rockets are 0-5 in the games he misses, 9-6 in the games he plays in. He is integral to the team due to the lack of depth on the roster currently.

Let’s just look at the stats:

The Stats

James Harden: 25 points, 11 rebounds, 17 assists, 6 steals

Clint Capela: 18 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks

James Ennis: 18 points

Eric Gordon: 17 points

Danuel House: 18 points

Why the Rockets lost

The Rockets pretty much did everything wrong tonight, besides James Harden. The Beard managed to drop his first triple-double of the year and had a season-high 17 assists. This is now his third straight game with 13+ assists, all in losing efforts.

The Rockets have allowed triple-digit scoring in five straight games now. The defense has to get better all around because it’s very ugly right now.

The bench was limited with Eric Gordon starting once again. Danuel House was actually pretty great off the bench but got hurt late. Thankfully, he seemed fine.

The depth is a huge issue. Houston needs to make some moves soon, or more of the same will come. The minutes load on the main players is getting crazy. The starters were rested for the last half of the fourth quarter but still managed to have 32+ minutes each. Will the team look a bit differently by the time they play the Spurs on Friday?

All-in-all, ugly game for Houston. This is getting familiar, something must change.