This game wasn’t destined for much. Following the overtime thriller versus Golden State, which saw James Harden vanquish the Warriors’ fab four as if he were Spider-Man fighting off the Sinister Six, the Rockets’ (22-16) contest against the Portland Trail Blazers (23-17) wasn’t poised to grab headlines, especially considering the next one is against the conference leading Denver Nuggets on Monday.
If you consider the jubilant Thursday night as the high, this loss against the Blazers was an inevitable hangover. Without the dominant performance from Harden that we’ve become accustomed to over the past 12 games, the Rockets’ weaknesses from earlier in the season resurfaced: poorly timed turnovers, a lack of consistent shot creators and, perhaps most devastating, an inability to choral defensive rebounds.