In dire need of a performance more in line with their early-season successes and an effort that could mask the stench of three overtime losses during their just-wrapped six-game road trip, the Houston Rockets produced a result on Thursday that made their recent struggles appear aberrant.
Rockets coach Ime Udoka described those road woes as a hiccup, and Houston responded by pounding the Los Angeles Lakers 119-96 on Christmas to close the road trip on a high note. The Rockets will host the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday to begin a two-game homestand.
After welcoming back Tari Eason (oblique) earlier on the road trip, the Rockets got their first look at offseason acquisition Dorian Finney-Smith against the Lakers after he missed the first 27 games following offseason ankle surgery.
While Eason and Finney-Smith remain on minutes restrictions, their availability provides the Rockets with additional rotation options, a necessity for a team still feeling its way through lineup combinations.
“It just adds to the depth (and) versatility in lineups we can throw out there,” Udoka said. “Don’t have to overrun other guys, so guys can play their full five, six, seven minutes at a high level and not rest any because we know that we’ve got good backups coming in.
“Whether they start or back up, we expect that from those guys. We came in layers (Thursday) as far as that.”
While the result proved disappointing, the Cavaliers found encouragement in their 126-124 road loss to the New York Knicks on Thursday, despite blowing a 17-point fourth-quarter lead.
Reigning Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley returned from a five-game absence and provided 14 points and nine rebounds in 25 minutes off the bench.
Mobley was set to miss up to four weeks with a left calf strain but dramatically shortened that timeline. The Cavaliers have endured injuries to key rotation cogs, including Darius Garland and Sam Merrill, but with both in the fold and Mobley back sooner than anticipated, there was cause for optimism even in defeat.
“I’m thrilled that the guy got out there,” Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said of Mobley. “And he felt great. Obviously, we know how this is. First game out, you’ve been out for a while, but it gave us a big morale boost. We rallied around him. Yeah, sure, a little rusty, but that’s normal.
” … Pieces are starting to move into their right slot, if that makes sense. That’s part of why I feel encouraged.”
Against the Knicks, the Cavaliers were undone in part by conceding 28 points off 14 turnovers and allowing 14 second-chance points off the Knicks’ 12 offensive boards. Rebounding has been a problem for the Cavaliers, and with Houston pacing the NBA with a 41.1% offensive rebounding rate, Cleveland desperately needs a better result on the defensive glass.
“I’ve got to do a better job. We’ve got to emphasize it more,” Atkinson said. “It hurts when you come out of a game you should have won and you lose it for rebounding purposes. That stings, so hopefully that motivates us to be better.”
