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In ninth straight loss, John Wall frustrated by ‘small ball’ Rockets

Ben DuBose
·3 min read

The Cleveland Cavaliers are one of only three NBA teams with a worse record than the Houston Rockets, and they entered Wednesday on the second night of a back-to-back and with 10 losses in their last 11 games.

Even so, it still wasn’t enough for the Rockets (11-19) to end their losing streak, which is now at nine games and the longest for the franchise in more than 20 years. Overall, Houston is 0-9 since Christian Wood’s Feb. 4 ankle injury after going 7-1 in the eight previous games.

With the Rockets suddenly devoid of size after Wood’s injury and the release of DeMarcus Cousins, Cavs center Jarrett Allen (26 points, 18 rebounds, 4 blocks) towered over PJ Tucker, Jae’Sean Tate, and every Houston frontcourt piece besides Justin Patton. Allen was dominant in Cleveland’s 112-96 victory (box score), shooting 10-of-11 (90.9%).

John Wall led the undersized Rockets with 20 points in defeat.

“Defense wasn’t very good,” head coach Stephen Silas said postgame. “Offense was disjointed. Bad all the way around.”

Wall, a five-time All-Star and the clear team leader, offered more targeted criticism regarding Houston’s sudden lack of size. “We definitely need some type of paint presence,” Wall said from Cleveland.

Veteran guards Victor Oladipo and Eric Gordon each played for the Rockets after being listed as questionable with injuries, but it still wasn’t nearly enough. Oladipo and Gordon scored 17 points apiece, but they shot just 3-of-15 from 3-point range (20.0%). Meanwhile, the Cavaliers shot 16-of-36 on 3-pointers (44.4%), led by 4-of-4 from Dylan Windler.

The Rockets will finish up a two-game road trip Friday in Tampa, where the Toronto Raptors are playing this season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Central. For now, here’s a collection of highlights and postgame reaction from Cleveland.

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Stephen Silas

https://twitter.com/AdamSpolane/status/1364768686041669638 https://twitter.com/TheHRReview/status/1364770672594059272 https://twitter.com/AdamSpolane/status/1364769472461090816

John Wall

https://twitter.com/clutchfans/status/1364781158035312642 https://twitter.com/KellyIkoNBA/status/1364781104692084738 https://twitter.com/Jonathan_Feigen/status/1364781050069663744 https://twitter.com/MarkBermanFox26/status/1364782254984200195 https://embed.sendtonews.com/oembed/?SC=pAdbC8batQ-1171788-7498&format=json&offsetx=0&offsety=0&floatwidth=400&floatposition=bottom-right&float=on

Victor Oladipo

https://twitter.com/AdamSpolane/status/1364781832059965441 https://twitter.com/KellyIkoNBA/status/1364781879409455104 https://twitter.com/clutchfans/status/1364781928705097730 https://twitter.com/clutchfans/status/1364783443972915202 https://twitter.com/KellyIkoNBA/status/1364783989689643008 https://twitter.com/MarkBermanFox26/status/1364787378162978818

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