ClutchFans Game Thread: Rockets @ Hornets 2/19/2026

I liked our defense last night.
If we finish top 3 we gotta shot at WCF

 

I loved it too but realistically if Sengun and Amen are not going to step up to share the scoring load then KD is just going to load manage during the game and not play as good of D.

 

stay calm

 

lol. Give this man his trophy! @Os Trigonum

 

Funny how that works we actually extended the lead when KD was out and he was a -4 in the game. The offense looked more crisp and KD got to sit out first 6 minutes of the fourth then as soon as he came back in Hornets went on a run. The KD centric offense is killing our team even if he’s making shots,

 

Nonsense, he hit every shot down the stretch, as opposed to bricks. Without KD we would lose that game... Hornets were gonna make a run anyway

 

I agree with this. We won that game with defense (Durant included) and an incredible shooting night from Durant. It was nice seeing Durant operating from different parts of the floor and reacting to double teams more quickly. I do think that now that DFS is starting to get his legs under him using the 5 forward lineup more frequently could help this team get its mojo back defensively.

It’s amazing to me how many minutes Durant has played and the energy he can still muster. Will it last? Ime has abandoned Amen as an offensive weapon meaning his 18 ppg is going to be reduced to about 10. Right now Durant is the only one capable of making up that number. Hopefully, Sengun can get his act together or Jabari really steps up his aggression on the offensive side of the ball.

 

How do you know someone else woulda missed? We were paying great in the fourth without him. Sengun and Reed were stepping up. People were getting open shots. It’s fools gold to rely on the shots KD was making last night.

All I know is we are undefeated without KD. And if he really had a burner we need him out of here

 

Sengun needs to snap out of it. Amen is consistently ..... not a scorer. It’s a bonus when he does score.

 

Why does it matter if sengun has 15 or 30. The best part of Sengun is that he doesn’t have to score 30 for us to score. The flow of the offense and the team just looks better when he has the ball regardless if he makes or misses. He’s getting everyone open looks that easily make up for the scoring. KD iso offense is a recipe for us to exit in the first round. It’s so easy to guard and get him to turn it over. We can’t be spamming it for 48 minutes.

 

The Reed's effect

You can’t just look at +/- without considering who was on the floor. Sengun was +4 but played poorly for most of the game, except when Grant Williams was not guarding him. Durant was excellent on both ends last night.

The Rockets won this game on D, especially in the second quarter, when their 5-forward lineup shut down the Hornets.

 

The Rockets extended to their biggest lead to start the fourth is the main reason. While Sengun wasn’t scoring like he normally does he found guys for open shots and made our offense smoother. He’s always had a tough time scoring on Grant Williams.

 

Honestly, we need both guys being efficient and aggressive on offense to have a shot at winning anything. If it’s just one or the other, we’re a first round out for sure.

 

Eason finally had a bad shooting night from three, going 1-for-6. If he had made two or three of those open threes in the third and fourth, this game wouldn’t have been this close.

 

Don’t get me wrong. I think ISO Durant is a recipe for defeat long-term. I also think ISO Sengun and ISO Durant all game long won’t get it done. This team is cooked as far as contention this year, no matter which one of our stars is used heliocentrically.

 

Yall still think we have a shot at winning it? This team is a first round exit for sure. It is way too flawed and Ime is too stubborn to make the necessary adjustments. Should be a learning year and we need to run some semblance of an actual offense that isn’t getting KD the ball and everyone watching. How does that help the young kids get better.

 

That run came against their second unit while Williams was sitting and Sengun was able to be effective. The more important run happened during the defensive lockdown with their all-forward lineup in the latter half of the second quarter, against the Hornets’ starters. Down 11 to up 4 IIRC.

 

Ignoring the fact that I'll be called a "SOF", and responding, "No, I'm just not a SOH," (hater), if you consider he's averaged 9 rebounds a game for the season, there is a chance he's still bouncing back from those ankle tweaks.

Now, if you want to talk about Pre-2025-26 Sengun rearing its head (getting the ball at the 3 point line, raising the ball as if to shoot, balking instead), well, that I'd go with.