Houston Rockets squander double-digit lead late in season opener; 3 takeaways
2. Missed shots prove to be costly late yet once again
The Houston Rockets offense might have looked sharp offensively during the early going of the contest. However, Houston would fail to appear as such in the second half after shooting the lights out through first 24 minutes of play. The team that has led the league in 3-pointers made four out of the last five seasons went completely cold down the stretch.
Houston — which shot a red-hot 52.4 percent from downtown in the first half — managed to shoot just 26.7 percent from the field after intermission.
Despite garnering multiple wide-open looks late, Eric Gordon and James Harden combined to shoot just 6-for-32 on the night en route to missing 13 of their final 14 shots from downtown.
Eric Gordon is 0-5 on 3-pointers here in the 4th Quarter. He's getting good looks, but can't knock them down.
— Alykhan Bijani (@Rockets_Insider) October 25, 2019
James Harden: "Eric Gordon had five or six wide open shots that are normally cash that went in and out. It goes like that. It's a make or miss league."
— Salman Ali (@SalmanAliNBA) October 25, 2019
Although the Rockets will live on to play past their opening night inconsistencies, finding a way to capitalize during money time later in the year could play a critical factor as to where they fall in the Western Conference standings at the end of the season.
That’s aside from the question of whether or not they are able to accomplish its ultimate mission of finally winning a championship, as one could seek to state that Clutch City’s greatest defense is its offense when clicking on all cylinders.
Houston — who set the league record for most 3-pointers made in a single season for the third straight campaign last year — posted a 6-5 record last season in outings where they failed to hit more shots from beyond the arc than their opponent.
If this continues, working to ensure that their shooting strokes are on par will be more than a necessity, as missing shots in a manner eerily similar to Game 7 of the 2018 Western Conference Finals will not cut the mark for a team that has aspirations of playing into June 2020.