PrintRockets Hope to Rally Together to Stop Slump
Rockets at 76ers, 6 PM, FSNHOU
Jason Friedman
Rockets.com Staff Writer
Philadelphia - First things first: The Rockets realize there is no such thing as a must-win game in early January. That caveat aside, however, players and coaches are also all too aware of the overriding significance bubbling just beneath the surface of tonight’s contest against the 76ers.
There is a losing streak to be snapped; especially with mighty Boston looming on the horizon. There is ground to be gained in the brutally competitive Western Conference. But perhaps just as important, the Rockets know they have to build off the energy and intensity they brought to the arena in Atlanta Saturday night, while leaving the lackluster performances which preceded that game behind them once and for all.
“We competed and that’s the thing that was missing against Toronto,” says Rafer Alston. “Even though we were down much of the game, we competed and had an opportunity to win the game. That’s what we want: to compete no matter what’s going on.”
Brent Barry goes even further with his analysis.
“It was a good response, a professional response, by our team to an unprofessional performance in Toronto,” he says. “That’s encouraging in the sense that we have guys who are still willing to go out there and fight and compete. But we need to find consistency on some significant levels in order for this team to start to come together. It’s just been frustrating that we’re talking about this in January when we were mentioning it in November and December.”
Barry is not alone in his frustration; everyone within the organization is feeling it these days. Injuries continue to sabotage the club’s search for consistency, and the recent slump which has witnessed Houston lose five its last seven games only compounds the overall level of discontent.
But there also exists an optimism that the tide will turn. Many point to last season’s low water mark – coincidentally enough, a January loss to Philadelphia – and the subsequent winning streak which followed shortly thereafter, as proof that momentum can shift in a heartbeat. And the solution is clear to all: Get healthy, rally together and rediscover the joy of playing true team basketball.
“I feel like there’s a bit of a longing for us to realize what our potential is,” says Barry. “Potential and expectations are sometimes hard to live up to, and I think our guys feel like our team can do some really good things, and be explosive and be really good.
“We’re talking about three months into the season where we haven’t been able to see some of the fruits of that labor. I think guys are starting to feel embarrassed about that, and are starting to realize there’s a time when we need to start to come together, and that time should be now. We need to have a bunker mentality and start to play for one another, and find out what we’re made of.”
That journey to self-discovery begins tonight.Got a question for Rockets.com? Send it to Jason Friedman.
