Rockets' Embarrassing Display in Sunday's Loss to Magic Proves They're NBA Title Pretenders

The Houston Rockets are going to ride Mike D'Antoni's system until its wheels fall off, and Sunday's game was a prime example of small ball coming up short in a 126-106 loss. Facing off against the Orlando Magic, the Rockets' 3-point approach proved ineffective, and the team was unable to win the battle down low against Orlando's big men.

The Magic jumped out to a 25-point lead at halftime and never looked back, all the while proving why the Rockets are destined to come up short in their NBA title pursuit. Orlando was dominant on the glass, out-rebounding Houston 49-38. While it's unfair to count out the Rockets due to one game, Sunday's performance showed some glaring issues within D'Antoni's system.

PJ Tucker is the Rockets' center, if you can call him as much, and he's simply no match for prototypical NBA bigs. Even an offensive-minded big men like Nikola Vucevic and Aaron Gordon proved far too much for Tucker to handle. He grabbed just four rebounds on the night and ended up with a -24 plus/minus.

While the Rockets can certainly light it up from outside when hot, duds are bound to occur. Houston shot 9-for-32 (28.1%) from beyond the arc, and turned the ball over 18 times on Sunday. That type of inconsistent play won't suffice in a seven-game playoff series, especially against some of the notable Western Conference defenses.

James Harden struggled in the loss, too. His cold streak continued Sunday when he shot 6-for-19 from the field and 3-for-10 from deep. During the Rockets' current four-game skid, Harden has effectively proven that if he, or Russell Westbrook, aren't making prolific shots, the Rockets have severely limited offensive potential.

The Rockets went all-in on D'Antoni's system and this latest cold streak is proving first and foremost that the style of play won't produce an O'Brien trophy any time soon. Houston is far too reliant upon making tough shots, and in a seven-game series that magic is due to run out, just as we've seen of late.