The Rockets was “soft” in Sunday night’s 129-100 blowout road loss in Miami, fumed head coach Mike D’Antoni.
Houston (3-3) faced a 41-point deficit against the Heat with less than four minutes into the second quarter.
D’Antoni says his team needs to “have that appropriate fear” going forward.
“They jumped on us from the beginning,” Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said. “They outran us and outhustled us and outplayed us. First quarter, they just came out and smacked us, and we just took it.
“At a certain point, you’ve got to fight. Little like last year, not enough tiger out there. We’re just not playing as hard as we should be playing, especially on the defensive end.”
They also have to find the balance between not overreacting and understanding how far they are from where they expected and still aspire to be. After Sunday, that won’t be easy.
“We are not in trouble, but if we think we are not in trouble, then we are in trouble,” D’Antoni said. “You have to have that appropriate fear. We have to work our way back.”
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