Who have battled the Houston Rockets in the past few seasons as they enter the NBA’s never-before-seen, manufactured small-ball basketball of Lana in its purest form, destroying the Los Angeles Lakers in their West Game 1 on Friday at 112-97 in the conference semifinals. Does not come.
While the Rockets are at their best, opponents often find themselves trying to explain such an uncomfortable matchup.
But LeBron James has spent the best part of his career in the Eastern Conference, with Mike D’Antoni’s under-rim teams sitting several times in the season. And none of the previous versions of the Rockets had an energy drink that Russell Westbrook is speeding up for them.
“I think this is the motion. You can see it on film. You can see it on film. But you have no feelings for it until you get out of there.” Said James. “In the early 2000’s, when St. Louis Rams was ‘The Greatest Show on Turf’, people were always saying how they scout ‘M and Scout’. But not until they got on the field and they saw Isaac. Until Bruce, and Tory Rey Holt, and Marshall Fulk and all those people and it was like, ‘Well, we need to play them again,’ because there’s no way you can emulate this motion.
“Getting on the floor and having Game 1 will give you the spirit for it.”
To James, the Lakers’ biggest issue Friday night, the Rockets scored 27 points from LA’s 17 turnovers, thanks to a combination of the Lakers’ negligence and the Rockets’ speed.
But Houston has been doing something else since coming to Florida.
“That’s our defense,” guard James Harden said. “This is where we want to go. I preach it. But defensively, if we’re engaged … we’ve got something.”
Harden actually talks about the Houston defense, which is No. 1 in defensive efficiency in the playoffs (101.4 points per 100 assists allowed) and seventh during eight seeding games (109.1 points per 100 assists allowed).
It’s just that the Rockets’ victory with the defense is so opposite that it will take some time for them to get the proper credit.
Remember Harden’s block at Lugiants Dort in Game 7 of Houston’s quarter-final series on the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday? It has become an instant souvenir on social media because we have seldom seen Harden play on the floor – or given it credit.
“His defense has been really good all year. He’s been even better in the bubble,” D’Antoni said. “When he sets the tone, when he’s like him. I’ve talked so much about him, how good he is.”
The key to Houston is pushing for turnover, as no team has pushed for faster playoffs (17.0) per game than the Rockets. Houston ended Friday with 13 thefts.
PJ Tucker is Houston’s defense leader, and he’s also shaking his head at how well the Rockets are playing.
“We have a lot of people who can get 20, 30, 40 points every night,” Tucker said with a chuckle. “If we can play half the defense as we’ve been playing the last few games, we’ll have a chance to win every night, no matter who we play.”
The Rockets held the Lakers to 97 points in Game 1, averaging 113.4 in their regular season and 117.2 against the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round. James had 20 points – but zero in the fourth quarter, as Houston broke open with a 14-0 lead in the space of four minutes, tied 101-82 at ct on Davis of Ctn by Hurdon’s driving layout. 15 to go. Houston never let the lead come under 13 points the rest of the way.
Davis was the only bright spot for the Lakers, finishing with 25 points and 14 rebounds in a 10-of-16 shooting. But the fact that the Lakers are bound in rebounding (411-in1) with very short rockets speaks volumes about how Houston handles the game.
Los Angeles got virtually nothing from anyone else in its opening five. Cantavius Caldwell-Pop, Danny Green and Jawale McGee scored 19 points in the 8-for-22 shooting. Kyle Kuzma, James said he needs to be the Lakers’ third-best player if he is to win the championship this year, having only eight points in 3 — off shooting. The Lakers were outsourced by 21 points in Kuzma’s 29 minutes on the floor.
As James said, the game was played at Houston’s pace and in Houston’s style. But the Rockets have been playing this way for years, and they have had a lot of success playing this way against everyone outside of the Golden State Warriors gamble. The Rockets have now played the Lakers four times since January and have won three of those seats.
The question is whether this is the best version of rockets. He has never had a guard as fast as Westbrook. Following Center Clint Capella’s midseason trade, the five-man lineup has never been as small as they are now playing.
They have never won by playing a consistent, hands-on, turnover-forced defense like today.
Veterans like D’Antoni and Harden and Tucker have been in the playoff series before, only to see a favoring team – formerly the Warriors – find a way to a seven-game series to deal with the way they build rocket teams. Uncomfortable playing small, switch-everything lineups.
D’Antoni said, “We just have a very unique team. We are different from everyone else.” “Even if we’re good enough, we’ll see. It’s not even close enough to be a long way. But we can compete. And if we can compete and get a little bit of luck, we’ll see.”
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