Houston Rockets: 3 takeaways from 2018-19 season opener
3. Lack of energy early proves to be costly
Despite having the chance to kick off the year in high swing, the Rockets failed to impose their will upon the season opener, as the squad that waited 142 days to take the floor since Game 7 of last year’s Western Conference Finals came out slow to start the 2018-19 campaign.
Houston, which never led a single moment in the ball game, shot 38 percent from the field in the first half, while proving to be ill-equipped to handle New Orleans’ up-tempo attack on defense and giving up a series of transition baskets in the process.
#Rockets getting beat 71-54 at halftime. Harden with 10 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists. They're shooting 38% from the field, 8/25 on 3-pointers. Pelicans shooting 62%, getting whatever they want to in the half-court and transition.
— Alykhan Bijani (@Rockets_Insider) October 18, 2018
"“I thought they were tired,” Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni told reporters in his postgame press conference. “They’ve been playing at a fast pace the whole preseason, and we didn’t. “We were playing against some teams that just kind of walked it up, and I think that it shocked us a little bit and got us tired. Then we panicked a little bit.”"
Coming out with energy to start games will prove to be important as the year goes along, as looking for quality shots — in conjunction with establishing a strong level of communication on defense, could prove to be the difference between whether or not Houston is able to reach its ultimate goal by season’s end.