The Houston Rockets look completely exhausted

The Houston Rockets snapped a six-game losing streak on Sunday.

That's about the only positive note you'll find in this article.

Sure, they beat the Raptors. That's great. The Rockets were shorthanded. Not only did Jabari Smith Jr. and Fred VanVleet remain out, but Tari Eason and Steven Adams weren't available on the tail end of a back-to-back. This was a depleted basketball team.

That's part of the problem.

Rockets are hit hard by injury bug

The Rockets were effectively without Alperen Sengun as well. Granted, he managed 3 minutes of action. Sengun had to exit the game early in the first quarter with back spasms.

Luckily, it seemingly wasn't a significant injury.

That's encouraging, but there's a broader issue here. The Rockets look exhausted. The performance that they turned in against the Raptors isn't going to beat the majority of the teams in the NBA.

Dillon Brooks led all Rockets scorers with 19 points. He was 5/16 from the field. Jalen Green contributed 18, and he was 7/19. This was a rock fight, and the Rockets simply had more rocks.

Look at the Raptors' box score. You'll see a handful of fringe NBA players finding significant minutes. This is an organization in flux. The Raptors just acquired Brandon Ingram, but he's injured. Canada's team is focusing on development until further notice:

Their front office probably wanted to lose this game.

A win is a win. The Rockets snapped their skid. Still, their rash of injuries is concerning.

Can they sustain their success throughout the rest of 2024-25?

The Rockets need a break

The Rockets have two more games before the All-Star break. They'll square off with an underachieving (but still talented) Suns team, and a Warriors club that just landed Jimmy Butler.

It's unlikely that 94 points will be enough to vanquish either of those squads. There have been no indications that Jabari Smith Jr. or Fred VanVleet will be available.

Sengun seems like he'll be back. Let's be honest - he's struggled defensively in Smith Jr.'s absence. The Rockets will head into two tough contests without a full deck. These would be winnable games if they were whole, but they're going to be difficult as it stands.

Perhaps the Rockets' aggressive defensive identity has exhausted them throughout the year. This team has been winning games by outworking everyone. The Rockets defend at a high level and crush opponents on the glass. That's an excessively effortful way to play basketball.

Nobody is saying that the team needs to change their ways. Still, the Rockets will need to sharpen their offensive strategy to accomplish their goals past this season. They need a more reliable way to put the ball in the basket if they're going to conserve their energy for an entire season.

Otherwise, they can expect more midseason losing streaks.