Houston Rockets drop second-straight Summer League game

By Michael Knight

Jul 7, 2019

Las Vegas, NV - JULY 7: Isaiah Hartenstein #55 of the Houston Rockets shoots the ball during the game against the Portland Trial Blazers during Day 3 of the 2019 Las Vegas Summer League on July 7, 2019 at the Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, Nevada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Bart Young/NBAE via Getty Images) /

The Houston Rockets and their Summer League team continued to disappoint with their struggles to find the win column. They dropped their second game to the Blazers.

The Houston Rockets do not have the most talented Summer League roster ever assembled, that’s for sure. They are now 0-2 after dropping another game, this time to the Portland Trail Blazers.

The Rockets don’t have a ton of top talent in the Las Vegas Summer League normally, but it isn’t usually quite this rough. The offense is mostly stagnant, outside of the heroics of Chris Clemons. The Rockets ended up scoring just 87 points.

Isaiah Hartenstein showed flashes of being a productive player, but was inconsistent once again. He had one play in particular that I loved seeing when he made a beautiful pass on the fast break, but he also had some head-scratching moments. He’ll have to prove more to the Rockets if he wants to find minutes this year. He was decent in the fourth quarter, though, trying to take over but ultimately failing.

Chris Clemons

The undrafted, 5’9 rookie Chris Clemons has taken the fan base by storm. Last game, he dropped a team-high 25 points and knocked down seven shots from deep. Tonight, he followed that up a bit with 19.

He wasn’t as good as last night, but still was solid. He knocked down four 3s on 40% 3P% and showed the ability to once again hit contested and non-contested shots alike. Clemons is taking great advantage of his opportunity for a team that values shooting.

Next up…

Next. 3 players the Rockets should pursue

The Rockets are off tomorrow, but will play against the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday night at 9:00 CT. They will look to win a game (hopefully) or at least show a bit more in that one. Be sure to tune in at the very least for Clemons!