3 takeaways from Houston’s impressive win over Thunder

NS Houston Rockets on a three-game winning streak. Everyone reading this knows it, but I had to type it out just to remind myself that it really is a thing. For most of this season, this team has been a mess trying to find identities at both ends of the ring. They may still end the season with one of the worst records in basketball, but now they have a tool in their belt that they didn’t have before: distance. That is the name of the game and will be the consistent subject for this analysis of the game.

Missile Takeaways

1. Christian Wood looks like a dominant attacking grandmaster again

By his standards, Christian Wood of the Rockets has had a bad year. His score, block, steal and shoot rates are all down from last year. There have been a number of games this season where his impact has gone completely unfelt. Wood is easily Houston’s most talented player and was a likely run for an All-Star team before he suffered an ankle injury last season so this is a pretty serious indictment.

Since he switched back to center and had the proper floor space around him, he was able to become the player whose performance and monster dive looked like a bargain in the Premier League. previous season. For some reason, because Wood is such a good three-pointer, the Rockets have used him primarily as a select-and-pop, ranged threat. In Wood’s last three games, he’s averaged 24.3 points, 15.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.3 saves on 65.5% of correct shots.

“The last game, I felt like I was back,” Wood said after the game. “Tonight, I feel like I’m starting to hit the groove I was last year playing with James Harden. It feels good.”

2. Garrison Mathews is starting to pass an interesting story

Garrison Mathews becoming a fixture in Houston’s rotation was something no one could have seen when he was called up from the G League two weeks ago. I wrote about how interesting his story was after Houston’s final win over the Hornets. Mathews kept the momentum going for the third straight game opening up the possibility that Houston may have found a gem here. Danuel House Jr was like that with the Rockets a few years ago, and there have been some similar two-way success stories, but that’s something to watch for in the future.

Garrison Mathews (last 3 matches):

17.0 PPG

50.0% shooting from three-point range

3. Jae’Sean Tate is still underrated

It’s understandable why the game’s story could be Christian Wood or Garrison Matthews, but Jae’Sean Tate continues to try and deliver as important performances as tonight. Tate has the same minus as Wood tonight (+24) and also has 15 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists in 7/12 shots from the field. However, you won’t be able to tell if you’ve heard the broadcast or read about the game on Twitter.

pic.twitter.com/lBaWgTgzGW

– Salman Ali (@SalmanAliNBA) November 30, 2021

Somehow he managed to stay efficient without being a good three-pointer and that really stems from his inner scoring ability. Tate is extremely strong and always tries to find ways to bully to jump hooks and difficult construction. This high percentage keeps his defense honest and effective on the water. He’s just a really good NBA player and one can safely assume that teams have called the Rockets to ask about his availability.