The Houston Rockets have a serious vulnerability as a side that has been exposed after their latest loss to the Sacramento Kings.
When the Houston Rockets made the decision to trade for Kevin Durant, many felt it was a sign they were going to be contenders this season.
The Rockets added Kevin Durant to a team that won 52 games the prior season, good enough for the second seed in the Western Conference.
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However, their first-round exit against the Golden State Warriors showed they lacked experience, especially when it came to crunch time.
The arrival of Durant, one of the most clutch scorers in NBA history, was supposed to fix that. But this season has shown that it is still a big problem for them.
The Houston Rockets are 1-4 in overtime games this season
The Houston Rockets have had five games this season go to overtime. And unfortunately, their record in those five games isn’t as strong.
Aside from the Rockets’ win over the Magic, they have lost every game in overtime. They started the season 0-1 in overtime in their opening fixture against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
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However, recent overtime losses to the Denver Nuggets, New Orleans Pelicans, and the Sacramento Kings have shown that they can’t close games when teams push them to overtime.
The loss to the Kings was especially painful, given that the Rockets had a double-digit lead coming into the fourth quarter.
A game-tying shot from Russell Westbrook forced the Rockets into overtime, and Kevin Durant couldn’t get them out of the hole they built in those five minutes.
Houston Rockets need a reliable closer aside from Kevin Durant
The Houston Rockets’ losses in overtime show they are having a serious problem closing games when things are tight.
They have been taken to overtime five times, more than any other side in the NBA. Clearly, they’re not able to get the win when things are going tough for them.
A big issue is the lack of closers aside from Kevin Durant. With Durant being the only reliable clutch bucket-getter, teams often blitz him, meaning that he is forced to take some really tough shots.
It would be in the Rockets’ best interest to try to find another closer to take some pressure off of Durant. Alperen Sengun isn’t able to plug that gap so far.
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