Some will always say the effort is not there. Others will point to rebounding. Adelman will never be satisfied with the ball and body movement of his team, which makes the problems of the Rockets offense, sinking toward the worst in the NBA, even more maddening.

It is not just Adelman's predilection with movement that makes him cite it every night. The thing he wants most is what his team does worst. Never was that more apparent than in the Lakers' 111-82 pummeling of the Rockets.

The Rockets made just 37.8 percent of their shots and are making just 41.2 percent this season.

The offense, a mix between Adelman's Sacramento-era motion with a heavy dose of standard NBA post-ups and pick-and-rolls, has become overrun with standing around and taking turns going one-on-one.

"You can't just go one-on-one," Adelman said. "You have to play as a team, and we did not play as a team. Give them credit. They've been very good. But we're better than that. We have to find answers.

"It's just the way we're playing right now. You have to work a little harder. If teams are shutting you down, you have to work a little harder, you can't do it on your own, you have to play as a team. We have a lot of work to do."

ROCKETS 82, LAKERS 111: The Rockets did accomplish one thing Sunday -- they made the pummeling that would come even more thorough than the Lakers' 29-point margin of victory. The Rockets actually led early and took that lead to as much as 16. But when the Lakers turned it up, they blew the Rockets out, outscoring them 95-50 the rest of the way. Tracy McGrady went 1 for 11, Ron Artest went 2 of 11 and the Rockets made just 37.8 percent of their shots with 20 turnovers. When the Rockets defense sank in the fourth quarter to the depths of the offense, there was not much left.