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HOUSTON – James Harden and the Houston Rockets believed that the addition of Russell Westbrook and his little unorthodox lineup would be what they needed to win their first title in 25 years.
Instead, they suffered another early exit from the playoffs and must find a coach after Mike D’Antoni told them he would not return after he and management couldn’t agree on a new contract.
The Rockets beat Oklahoma City in seven games in the first round and won Game One against the Lakers before losing the next four games to be eliminated in the Western Conference semifinals for the second year in a row.
“It’s very, very frustrating,” Harden said. “Especially with the amount of individual work I put in. But I’m going to keep working, I’m going to keep going and going until I can’t keep up.”
Harden had another splendid regular season, averaging 34.3 points to lead the league in scoring for the third year in a row. He was also first in the NBA in 3s (299) and free throws (692) and ranked fifth in steals (1.84) and seventh in assists (7.5).
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He continued that elite game in the postseason, where he averaged 29.6 points per game. But the Rockets struggled to find other players to help carry them. Westbrook missed the first four games of the Thunder series with a quadriceps strain. He came back for the fifth game of the first round and played every game after that, but he never looked quite right.
He was widely criticized for his terrible performance in Game Two against Los Angeles when he made just 4 of 15 shots and finished with 10 points and seven turnovers in Houston’s 117-109 loss.
Westbrook said after Game 5 that he was never 100% after his injury. He also said he felt behind schedule after being late for the NBA bubble following a coronavirus diagnosis that prevented him from exercising for three weeks.
“It’s very frustrating for me, man, and knowing that the postseason is where you are supposed to elevate your game and I was just trying to get up to speed and there’s no time for that,” he said.
Despite Westbrook’s struggles in the playoffs, Harden said he was pleased with the way his friend’s first season in Houston went and looks forward to seeing what they can do in the future. But he believes they can’t go it alone and that the team needs to make a move this offseason to get to the next level.
“I feel like we are one piece away and we have to keep trying to figure it out, keep trying to grow and put the right pieces on myself and Russ to get where we need to go,” Harden said.
The Rockets did it all in their little lineup when they traded center Clint Capela to Atlanta in February. They believed the lineup was more conducive to success in D’Antoni’s fast-paced offense that relies on a large number of 3-point attempts. Houston led the league this season with an average of 45.3 attempts per game in D’Antoni’s season four.
Now that D’Antoni is gone, it’s unclear whether the Rockets will stick with their small lineup or revert to a more traditional starting five with a true center.
While some questioned whether Houston’s unconventional lineup contributed to their dismissal from the playoffs, Harden believes they would have been fine using that setup if they had executed better.
“We never gave ourselves a chance,” he said. “And that’s talking about rebounds, that’s talking about our changes, that’s talking about our offensive movement, things that we’re trying to attack on the offensive end that we never get to do consistently. So that’s up to us.”
Along with Westbrook’s struggles, the Rockets also slowed down against the Lakers due to the absence of Danuel House. A major player off the bench, House averaged 11.4 points and 5.8 rebounds in the playoffs, but missed the team’s last three games after violating NBA health protocols by allowing an unauthorized guest to enter his hotel room. “for several hours”.
Harden called House’s actions disappointing and said they hurt the team against the Lakers.
“It affected us because obviously it was just the distraction and he was a big part of our rotation,” Harden said.
But the Rockets can’t worry about what could have been, and Harden is already looking to the future. The 31-year-old is focused on trying to lead the Rockets to their first championship since they won back-to-back titles in 1994-95.
“We are heading in the right direction,” he said before a long pause, “we are heading in the right direction.”
The question for Harden and the Rockets is how long it will take to get to their destination rather than just going the right way.
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