15 defeats in a row. And then six wins in a row. It is the bizarre fact that the Rockets have right now, which according to the ESPN It is the first team of all North American sport (NBA, NHL, MLB, NFL) to get such a positive streak after a totally negative one. A curiosity that is still totally strange and that will not mean much more than a mere note in the history books. After all, it is only the seventh victory for the Texans this season: 7-16 for them., ahead in the standings to the Thunder (6-16) and their rivals tonight, the Pelicans (7-19). That is what they have achieved, abandoning the deepest well in the rankings.
The game did not have much history either. The Rockets’ victory was worked on: they won all the quarters with little difference, they entered last with an 8-point advantage (93-85) and they didn’t allow their rivals to get anywhere near less than that number until the very end. His victims have been the Bulls, Hornets, Thunder twice, Magic and, now, Pelicans. Almost all teams at the bottom of the table. Encounters that, of course, must be won. The only thing left to know is if adding these victories is going to mean something in the short term or is it a mere mirage for Stephen Silas, a coach who hasn’t shown anything since he came to the NBA. In the midst of James Harden’s farce, let no one forget.
Christian Wood, with 23 points and 8 rebounds, was once again the best player on a team that touched 50% in shots from the field and reached 2.5% in triples (17 of 40) a spectacular figure. Wood, by the way, is at more than 16 points and 11 rebounds this season., good numbers in a place without a prize. In addition, another 23 points for Eric Gordon, that last redoubt of the Rockets candidates from not long ago, 13 for Garrison Matthews, 12 for Daniel Theis, 11 for Jae’Sean Tate and 10 for Alperen Segundo. A bit of everything for a team that is giving the odd spark and that in recent games it is looking just like that: a team.
In the Pelicans, Willy Hernangómez once again stood out, a true hero when it comes to producing statistics in a short time. Nobody uses minutes as well as him; against the Rockets, played less than 16 minutes. And he went to 10 points, 14 rebounds (9 offensive, impressive), 1 assists and 2 steals. And he’s already at more than 8 points and almost 7 rebounds a night this season. And almost double-double in the last 7 games (around 11 + 9), when he has begun to enter Willie Green’s plans more strongly, another coach without aura who has come to a project adrift and that he has joined that horde of young and rookie coaches who turn his time in the NBA into an ephemeral experience.
The best of the Pelicans, yes, was Brandon Ingram: 40 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists for him (with 15 of 28 shooting, a very good shooting series). But without a prize, of course. Also, 17 + 10 by Jonas Valanciunas, 10 points and 5 assists from Nickeil Alexander-Walker from the bench and just 9 points from Devonte ‘Graham, who was 3 of 12 in field goals and 3 of 11 in triples. The team is still, by the way, waiting for a Zion Williamson who is still the glass man and looking to the future like the past or the present: without any hope. Of course, Willy emerges within so much excess. There are those who can stay with that. For those who want to look at the glass half full.
#Willy #free #production