Houston Rockets: Is it time to hit the panic button?

Only 24 games into the new NBA season, is it already time to hit the panic button for the Houston Rockets?

The Houston Rockets have continued struggling to start the new season and it might already be time to start panicking, and trade shopping. The Rockets are 11-13, and have dropped two games in a row to the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Utah Jazz. Against Minnesota, they gave up a 19-point lead and looked fairly hopeless on both ends of the court at the end of the game.

Against the Jazz, they were even worse. It was a terrible display, as Houston lost by 27 to a fairly average Utah squad, compared to other teams in the West. The Rockets have been able to use excuses for the majority of this season whether it was injuries or the Carmelo Anthony saga, but in Salt Lake City, they had none. Everyone on the team was healthy besides Brandon Knight, and they were playing with Chris Paul back in the lineup again. They flat-out got dusted by the Jazz.

It was also a Jazz team that lost Rudy Gobert to an ejection just three minutes into the contest. Derrick Favors and Joe Ingles both had great games with 24 and 18 points respectively. However, the leading scorer for the Rockets was James Harden, who only managed to put in 15 points on the night, on 5-of-16 shooting from the field.

The worst part is that the team looked absolutely conquered. They had no life, and no reaction to getting embarrassed in a nationally televised game to a team they should beat with the roster they have.

The Houston Rockets are a shadow of the team they were last year. Only seven months ago, the Rockets were a couple of blown leads away from beating one of the best NBA teams ever assembled in the Western Conference Finals. Now they are sitting at 13th place in the West, only a half a game out of 14th, held by the San Antonio Spurs.

The Rockets are in the bottom half of scoring at 108.5 points per game (21st), while ranking 25th in defensive rating. They are playing poorly on both sides of the ball and will surely need to make a change soon if they plan on competing for a playoff spot in the talent-packed West. General manager Daryl Morey will not be able to sit back and watch this team’s season unfold, especially given the talent he already has.

Obviously the team will part ways with Carmelo Anthony once he’s able to be traded on Dec. 15, but they will need to make much more significant moves if they want to get back on track. Making a trade for a 3-and-D player would make sense given their struggles on defense and the team’s 3-point heavy offense.

Landing a player like Wesley Matthews or going back in for Trevor Ariza would be a huge move for the Rockets. Even though Ariza has been lackluster in Phoenix, a reunion in Houston could give him the spark he needs to make a comeback.

The bottom line is that Houston needs to do something — anything. Because if the Rockets wait too long and ride on the fallacy that everything will be all right, they could be on the outside looking in at the playoffs.