National Basketball Association

Houston Rockets Game 53 of 2015-16 Season vs Trail Blazers

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Houston Rockets Game 53 of 2015-16 had the team facing the Blazers.

Continuing SCS series of all 82 games from last season next up is the Houston Rockets Game 53 of 2015-16 versus the Portland Trail Blazers.

Feb 6, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard (12) grabs a rebound from Portland Trail Blazers center Ed Davis (17) in the second quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports

The Houston Rockets added draft picks and signed free agents to improve upon an especially mediocre 41-41 campaign. Big man Dwight Howard left for Atlanta while free agents Ryan Anderson, Eric Gordon, Nene Hilario and Pablo Prigioni joined Houston in free agency.

Hopes are these additions and the growth of existing assets will translate into a season similar to 2014-15. While fans wait for opening night on October 26th versus the Lakers hopefully this series will appease your cravings.

To that end, this series showcases the Rockets 82 games noting the pregame analysis, post game grades, and relevant video. Furthermore, SCS will highlight significant changes made by their opponents this summer. So, here it is – – enjoy all 82 posts as SCS takes you back over the 2015-16 season.

Game 53 – Portland Trail Blazers

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Pregame Analysis:

Defensive Identity: While the Rockets have been consistently inconsistent the truer fact is their defense has been the major issue. With time running out and currently aligned to face a team (Spurs) who would potentially sweep them in the post season it’s important the Rockets start improving on the defensive end asap. Making matters more pressing is the Blazers have shown recent improvements defensively, so Houston can’t afford to slack or Portland will make them pay.

Full pregame analysis via this link

Post Game Analysis:

Andre Cantalogo summed up this brutal outing by the Rockets in his post game review and player grades.

Much like what happened in the game against Phoenix, the Rockets started the game slow whie committing a lot of turnovers and fouls.

Conversely Portland focused on shots from the perimeter with Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum driving the basket.

Until Halftime the Rockets played disgustingly amateurish basketball. Still, Houston managed to get worse in the second half with the Blazers lead ballooning to 32 points at one point.

Stat Leaders:

NBA.com Box Score

Rockets Games vs Trail Blazers in 2016-17

Draft Picks and Free Agents

Following a season where Portland lost 4 starters the Trail Blazers shocked everyone by winning in spite of that set back. This summer they locked in CJ McCollum and brought back key contributors while adding core components to weak areas of the roster. Kevin Durant’s signing with Golden State gave way to Festus Ezeli being freed up and the Trail Blazers in dire need of a front court protector snatched him up.

Draft Picks:

Round 1: N/A

Round 2: Jake Layman (47)

Incoming Free Agents/trade:

Exiting Free Agents/traded:

Re-upping:

Unresolved:

More Free Agent News

Due to the large Houston Rockets fan base, SCS is always looking to add new talent to our writing team. To that end, we’re looking for individuals with a specialized focus. Specifically, the first area is perfect for someone who constantly surfs for breaking news on injuries, trades, insider info. Consequently this individual would select top news items providing timely quick hits to keep SCS readers in the loop.

The other writer would possess an especially strong social media background and would like to interact with Clutch City Fans. Therefore this person will promote SCS team content on facebook and twitter. As a result the successful candidate will make sure to promote the best content coming from H-Town fans. In conclusion, if you’re a budding writer who possesses these qualities vist the SCS link, and fill out an application

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