With the Houston Rockets carrying a 4-7 record into Wednesday night's game versus the similarly-slumping Portland Trail Blazers, nobody knew what to expect. Last year's conference finalists fired coach Kevin McHale this morning. How would they play for interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff? Would they finally find their groove or would the Blazers pounce on them, taking advantage of confusion to turn their own momentum around?
Cheat Sheet: The correct answer to all of the above questions is, "No."
The Rockets did not play inspired basketball, turning in 36 minutes of horrific play followed by an extended, 17-minute James Harden bail-out tour.