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Before Friday’s practice, Mike D’Antoni preached three words during his media availability through Zoom. Effort. Heart. Spirit. Entering Game 5 with a 3-1 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, the Houston Rockets did not receive the memo as they fell 119-96 Saturday night inside AdventHealth Arena in Orlando.
With the loss, Houston’s dreams of leaving the NBA bubble with the Larry O’Brien trophy came to an end during the Western Conference Semifinals, losing 4-1 to the Lakers. For the first time in his coaching career, D’Antoni has been eliminated from the postseason in fewer than six games.
The Rockets opened the night flat for the second time in a row. Houston missed nine of his first 12 shot attempts, which included six failed layups from inside the restricted area.
After scoring just six points from the field in Game 4, James Harden had a recovered performance with 30 points shooting 12 of 20 from the field. The narrative that Harden doesn’t appear in big games should be put aside despite Houston’s elimination. Amid collecting six rebounds and five assists in the process, Harden played 42 of 48 minutes in the loss.
“It is very frustrating, especially with the amount of work I put in. I’m going to keep cutting and going and going until I can’t go on. I feel like we are a piece away. “- Harden
Outside of Harden, it was a rough night for the rest of his teammates, especially Russell Westbrook. His struggles throughout the series carried over to Game 5 with just 10 points shooting 4 of 13 from the court. The only other player outside of Harden who had a solid offensive outing was Jeff Green, who added 13 points off the bench.
It was a cable-to-cable victory for the Lakers. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored the first three points of the game, and Los Angeles jumped to an early 22-point lead during the first quarter. LeBron James, who is entering his ninth conference final since 2011, scored 29 points and had 11 rebounds in the victory. Kyle Kuzma added 17 points (5-9 FG, 3-6 3PT) in 27 minutes for Los Angeles.
He’s fine [Westbrook]. He brings it every night and it’s good. You have to put everything in context. We were shooting, he was shooting, you leave for 4 and a half months, you come back, and these are not normal circumstances. But overall, it was great. “- D’Antoni
With another postseason run ending heartbreakingly, the question for the Rockets as they head into the offseason is: “Whats Next?” Houston’s stellar backcourt is tied for the next three seasons, and Harden says he feels the team is one piece away from a championship title.
However, training appears to be the biggest question surrounding the Rockets as their season draws to a close. D’Antoni is currently a free agent with his contract expiring and based on the events of last summer, it may take a miracle for the 2017 Coach of the Year winner to continue to call Houston his place of service.
“I have to let this sink in a bit. We have a great organization, a great city, a great fans, the team is great. So, we’ll see what happens. Couldn’t ask for a better situation for 4 years. Hopefully it will move on. “- D’Antoni
