The Houston Rockets lost a brutal game on the road against the 11th seeded Minnesota Timberwolves and head coach Mike D’Antoni was not happy.
“We didn’t come out with any fire,” D’Antoni said. “We don’t put people away. We let them hang around. Then they make some 3s.”
The Rockets were out-rebounded 47-37 by the Timberwolves and could not seem to buy a stop down the end of the game.
“It happened on Saturday. It happened tonight,” said D’Antoni. “We have to get a little more enthusiasm about playing a game.”
Veteran guard Chris Paul was also dissapointed in Houston’s defensive effort Wednesday night.
” We sucked on the defensive end tonight,” Paul said.” We’ve had too many nights like that this year where it feels like we can’t get a stop. The way they were scoring it was almost effortless. We just couldn’t stop them.”
The Rockets are have been out-rebounded in 3 out of their last 4 games and it’s been a persistent problem all season (29th in defensive rebounding percentage). Fortunately for Houston, they won’t have to play again for another week.
“Everybody needs a break,” star guard James Harden said after the game.
The Rockets will likely be getting Clint Capela back after the All-Star break so it should help alleviate some of their size problems.
