Missed free throws continue to cost the Rockets. Inexcusable shooting from the stripe prove a costly habit, impacting their win-loss record.
The Houston Rockets have had some uneven shooting nights this season. Wednesday night in Denver crossed into something worse.
At the free-throw line, it was simply inexcusable.
Houston finished the night 5-for-14 from the stripe, leaving nine points behind in a game that was still within reach during the first half. Those misses quietly chipped away at Houston’s margin for error long before the Nuggets blew the game open in the third quarter.
Free throws rarely dominate headlines after a loss, but the Rockets’ recent results suggest they matter more than it might seem.
Over the Rockets’ last 25 games, Houston is from the line 4-6 in games where it shoots below 75-percent . In the 15 games where the Rockets shot 75-percent or better, they’ve lost just four times.
The pattern isn’t perfect, but the trend is clear enough to notice.
Missed free throws often show up in the same games where other small mistakes pile up- turnovers, rushed possessions, defensive breakdowns. In Denver, the Rockets dealt with all three. But the free throws were the easiest points on the floor, and Houston simply didn’t take them.
The timing of the trend is interesting as well.
Every one of those sub-75 percent free-throw games has come since January 31, meaning the issue has surfaced entirely in the second half of the season. The results have bounced back and forth, but the inconsistency remains.
For the year, Houston ranks 15th in the NBA in free-throw percentage at 75.9 percent, squarely in the middle of the league.
Average usually keeps a team afloat.
On nights like Wednesday, average disappears.
The Rockets fought hard early in Denver, kept the game within reach for two quarters, and controlled the paint for much of the night. But when easy points vanish at the line, the math of the game starts shifting quickly.
And in a tight Western Conference race, those points can matter more than they seem.