The  Rockets have their lost “swagger” six games into the 2018-19 campaign. The Rockets are 1-5 and tied for the fewest wins in the league. Last night they got routed, losing 104-85 to the Portland Trail Blazers at the Toyota Center on Tuesday night.

D’Antoni declared after Houston’s previous game — a 133-113 blowout loss at home to the LA Clippers on Friday — that the Rockets needed to make drastic defensive changes due to personnel not suited to their switch-intensive scheme that was so successful last season.

“When it goes bad, it goes bad,” said Rockets forward Carmelo Anthony, who had eight points on 2-of-12 shooting. “Right now, I think we’ve just got to keep biting at it, keep fighting, keep playing. I’m big on staying the course and figuring it out. Whatever we have to figure out, I’m sure we will do it.

“It’s just a matter of us getting that one win, getting that feeling, getting that winning feeling. It’s funny saying that after the team wins 60-something games last year, to say getting back to getting a winning feeling again.”

D’Antoni said he thought the Rockets looked like a desperate team on Tuesday, losing their poise on offense despite having an experienced starting lineup led by a nine-time All-Star point guard.

It’s a thought that was reiterated throughout the locker room.

“It’s very easy for the negativity to start seeping into the room,” Anthony said, adding that he had seen it on previous teams that got off to poor starts. “For me, I’m just here to make sure that that doesn’t happen. We don’t need that right now, especially not in this locker room. You don’t kick a dog when it’s down. We’re all we’ve got right now, and we can figure this out.”

The Rockets still have 76 games remaining on the schedule. I can’t help but think Melo has something to do with this. That was a very unnecessary signing.