Rockets suffer 113-95 loss to Cavaliers

Jan 27, 2023 - 12:30 PM

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Welp, I can’t say I didn’t see it coming.

But, yeah... The Houston Rockets suffered a loss again.

It’s unfortunate really, we all know the Cleveland Cavaliers are a better team. This was a scheduled loss, as it was on the second leg of a back to back.

Despite the result, I have three takeaways from this 113-95 loss.

Tari Eason

Tari Eason had himself a night! While the rest of the team was struggling to get themselves going on both end of the floor, Tari separated himself as a man amongst the boys.

Eason finished the game with 18 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 block.

Mind you, Tari missed all of his three of his three-point attempts and still shot 62 percent from the field.

It was an encouraging game from the young forward. I know Rockets fans around the world are hoping he builds on this performance.

Alperen Sengun

Eason may have been Houston’s player of the game, but Sengun is was close! Alperen had many moments tonight where you end asking yourself “How did he do that!”.

Unless you’ve stopped watching the Rockets (I don’t blame you), you’re witnessing an offensive star in the making as he’s come out of his shell this season.

In this game alone, Sengun was on a triple-double watch, the Rockets big man recorded 14 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, along with 2 blocks and 2 steals.

If you’re just reading the box score, you would imply he was cooking which he was. However, he was also getting cooked by Cleveland’s front court, which made him earn 5 fouls in regulation.

Rockets Struggle Offense

Anybody with a pulse knew that the Rockets had tough match up against Cavs as they’re the third-best defense in the NBA, as they limit opponents to 111 points per game.

But it's another thing to witness on screen and I would imagine it’s even more mesmerizing to see in person.

The box score may have shown that Houston scored 51 percengt from the field, however it didn’t feel that way. The Rockets seemed more flustered than usual to develop their shoddy offense.

The reason behind this phenomena was the Cavaliers front court of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley. They both not only can rim protect, but they can guard in space whenever they're switched on guards.

As a result, the offense basically ran on fumes, which ended most of the possessions with a turnover. By the end of regulation, Houston coughed up the ball 22 times.