Houston Rockets: Back to backbreaker without John Wall

Missing John Wall on the first game of a back-to-back, the Houston Rockets’ offense looked stagnant and turnover-prone. What does his return mean for their chances against Memphis?

Holding a depleted Oklahoma City Thunder team to 104 points for most teams would guarantee walking away with a win. However, sorely missing their starting point guard John Wall, the Houston Rockets coughed up the ball 20 times and fell to OKC 87-104.

The formerly 21st rated offense in the NBA fell two spots over the course of one game and failed to find a rhythm on the offensive end, shooting just 38 percent from the floor, and 26 percent from beyond the arc. The otherwise frequent free-throw shooting roster struggled to get to the line, attempting only 13 free throws to Oklahoma City’s 26.

Otherwise secondary ball-handlers Eric Gordon, Victor Oladipo, and Jae’Sean Tate did not produce efficiently in halfcourt sets, and backups Danuel House and Ben McLemore were a combined -22 in 37 minutes. In fact, not a single Rockets player with the exception of Rodions Kurucs had a positive plus/minus.

No John Wall meant a Houston Rockets team lacking in efficient playmaking, prolific scoring in the fastbreak; lacking a floor general. The Rockets are -2.6 points per 100 possessions without Wall on the court, and in a game where the OKC was down their leading points and assist man in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, it could have easily been an excusable issue, as Gilgeous-Alexander averages 22 points to Wall’s 18, and 6.3 assists to Wall’s 5.8.

Kenrich Williams and Isaiah Roby gave the Rockets’ bench unit trouble, putting up a combined 32 points, nearly tripling their combined nightly averages of 12.7. In fact, the entire Thunder bench was the source of Houston’s misery, as OKC’s reserves were a +18 to Houston’s -4.6. An off-night for Ben McLemore and Danuel House, as well as missing a defensive-stalwart in David Nwaba, left Houston’s bench production dead in the water.

Victor Oladipo’s struggles to find his way in Stephen Silas’ offensive scheme as an effective pick-and-roll ball-handler continued. League-wide, Oladipo ranks in the 52nd percentile as the P&R ball-handler. He produces free-throw attempts on a meager 6.7 percent of those possessions, sitting far back from the 15.7 percent and 12.2 percent free-throw rates owned by teammates Eric Gordon and John Wall respectively. Not to mention, beyond Christian Wood, the Houston Rockets’ roll men fall well short of the mark efficiency-wise, as DeMarcus Cousins and P.J. Tucker fall in the 22nd and 6th percentile respectively.

John Wall is everything that the Houston Rockets need him to be when on the court. He makes the right pass in Silas’ halfcourt sets, manages the pick-and-roll well as both a scorer and a passer, and sends Houston’s fastbreak scoring to the moon, being able to cover the length of the court for a bucket in a matter of seconds. Additionally, his improvement as a 3-point shooter can’t be understated.

In a Rockets uniform, Wall is shooting 37.3 percent on 4.9 attempts per game, a career-high efficiency, and the second-highest volume 3-point shooting season of his career. Coming off of a ruptured Achilles, John Wall looks more explosive than ever, and has shown opponents this season that they truly have to pick their poison between the 3-point shot, or a drive to the hoop, where Wall shoots 61 percent, good for 8th amongst guards attempting five or more at-the-rim looks per game.

Plain and Simple; John Wall has been and will continue to be the driving force behind the Houston Rockets’ offense. Though Oladipo will miss the second night of a back-to-back, John Wall returns for Houston, and the Rockets face off Thursday against Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies, winners in 7 of their last 8 games.