It s not accidental, why did the Rockets fail? The three fatal shortcomings ruin the series, the team should reflect on it

In the first round of the NBA playoffs on May 5, 2025, the Rockets lost to the Warriors 89-103, and unfortunately stopped in the first round. This game exposed the Rockets' fatal shortcomings in core players' performance, tactical response, personnel management, etc., and allowed victory to eventually slip through the gaps between their fingers.

First, the collective loss of core players became the fuse for the game's defeat. Jaylen Green scored only 8 points on 3 of 8 shots in the game. He was hesitant to shoot in the key game and failed to make a strong shot. The fatal mistake in the final quarter even shattered the team's hope of chasing points. Although Shin Kyung scored 21 points, 14 rebounds and 5 assists, he made only 9 of 23 shots, and made continuous mistakes in the face of double-teaming, and was suppressed by Green on the defensive end. The "soft" style of play was fully demonstrated under high pressure. VanVleet fell to 6 of 13 inefficiency in tiebreaks, and the decision-making mistake in the key round directly ruined the counterattack opportunity. The three-man's sluggish performance made the Rockets' offense fall into a quagmire.

Secondly, at the tactical level, the Rockets' response seems to be very difficult. The Warriors used Hilde's three-point rain and Curry's breakthrough pass to successfully collapse the Rockets' proud "three high-level defense", but Uduka never found a way to break the situation. The team's dismal performance of 6 of 18 from outside the three-point line exposed the instability of outside projections. What's even more fatal is that the substitutions and timeouts were repeatedly made mistakes at critical moments, Adams' inside restraint was idle, and he watched the Warriors make a 12-0 attack wave to take the game away.

Finally, injuries and physical problems became the last straw that broke the camel's back. Amen Thompson left the field with a leg cramp in the third quarter, the Rockets lost their offense and defensive core, and the Warriors took the opportunity to expand the score gap. Shen Jing fought hard for 44 minutes in the whole game. His physical overdrawn in the last quarter caused a plunge in efficiency. Five fouls even restricted his performance, causing the Rockets' inside completely to lose the barrier.

This loss is a concentrated outbreak of the growth bottleneck of core players, insufficient coach response on the spot and overall team shortcomings. In contrast, the Warriors completed the "Black Seven" miracle with Hilder's 33 points and 9 three-pointers, the stable output of Curry and Butler, and Green's tough defense. For the Rockets, how to break through the growth shackles of core players and improve tactical flexibility and key combat psychological qualities will be a topic that must be overcome in the future.