Rockets’ Season Ends in Disappointment After Being Outrebounded in a Blowout
Dominance on the boards proved decisive. The Rockets' season imploded as a relentless opponent crushed them, ending any comeback hopes abruptly.
Coming into last night’s “win or go home” scenario for the third straight game, the Houston Rockets weren’t in unfamiliar territory. Figuratively and literally, with them having this potential series extending Game 6 in their home arena. After throwing away Game 3 in overtime, Ime Udoka and his young team had an uphill battle.
They proved to be up for the task though, as they responded with the first blowout of the series to avoid getting swept. While they managed to sneak away with another win in their next outing, this time on the road, there were some concerning stats that I thought they’d need to take care of in order to stay alive. As discussed in the Roundtable recap of Game 5, Deandre Ayton was a monster on the glass.
It was clear Houston would have to focus on limiting his effectiveness there if they wanted to extend their season. They did not. 2018’s top draft pick grabbed 16 rebounds just two nights after he had 17 rebounds.
At least only three of them were offensive in this game, compared to his 10 in his previous performance. Nonetheless, the Lakers still had 15 offensive boards, nearly doubling Houston’s eight as a team. That lined up almost perfectly with Houston taking nine fewer shot attempts and total rebounds, culminating in a 20 point loss.