After another loss, Westbrook leads Rockets in team meeting

Russell Westbrook led the Rockets in a team meeting after Wednesday’s home loss, which was the team’s third in a four-game span.

After an uninspired 10-point home loss to Portland, NBA scoring leader James Harden — who had a season-low 13 points — said the Rockets had a postgame team meeting to get some things off their chest. Head coach Mike D’Antoni referred to the team’s “ship getting rocked.”

According to reserve guard Austin Rivers, it was backcourt co-star and former NBA MVP Russell Westbrook who led Wednesday’s meeting.

Westbrook was one of Wednesday’s lone bright spots with 31 points (50% shooting, 40% on 3-pointers), 12 assists, and 11 rebounds, and his positive energy continued postgame as he encouraged his teammates amid a prolonged slump over the past week.

When asked about his message to teammates, Westbrook said:

Just creating consistency. Just playing hard. Xs and Os don’t really matter. It’s just playing hard consistently, on a night-in, night-out basis.

The Rockets (26-14) have now lost two consecutive games and three of four overall. All three losses have come by double-digits, with Houston allowing an average of 117 points in those games.

When asked what needs to happen to reverse that trend, the eight-time NBA All-Star stood by his original assessment. Westbrook said:

It’s as simple as that. Playing hard. Everything else is going to fall in line. There’s enough talent, enough experience. We know how to play the game. We just have to play hard every single night.

The Rockets have one of their toughest stretches of the season coming up, with six current Western Conference playoff teams looming over the next eight games. The other two games are on the road, at Minnesota and Portland — with the latter having just won in Houston.

But in Wednesday’s postgame comments to reporters, the 31-year-old Westbrook said he’s looking forward to that challenge:

The real measurement of a man is when you stand through adversity. I live for things like this. I know the guys in the locker room are feeling the same way, and we’ve just got to stick with it.

The Rockets will try to begin implementing that plan when they return to action Saturday at home against the Los Angeles Lakers (33-8), who lead the Western Conference. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., and the game will be broadcast nationally on ABC.

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