NBA Highlights Sept. 12: Lakers return to Western Finals after 10 years

The Los Angeles Lakers walked the Houston Rockets 119-96 in Game 5 of the Western Conference Semifinals on Saturday. Having earned four consecutive wins after losing in Game 1, the purple and gold reached the Western Finals for the first time in 10 years.

The last time the team accomplished such a feat, Kobe Bryant led all the way to the Finals to win consecutive titles.

Fairly speaking, Harden bounced back from the fight in Game 4 to go 12-20 on shooting from the field Saturday night, losing 30 points. When the Lakers drilled 19 of their 37 attempts from the 3-point line, it was hard to imagine that any team could defeat them, at least not the Rockets who were only 13-49 from center.

In fact, the Rockets suffered the last four losses in a row for basically the same reason: They couldn’t launch the offense like they used to. Harden could smash him into almost every defender through isolation as long as he had enough time to dribble and find his rhythm, but the Lakers weren’t giving him time. His catch always came after Harden dribbled for a few seconds, but before he could make his move. After Harden passed the ball to his teammate, there were usually two consequences: either a role player made a poor decision to ruin the offense, or Russell Westbrook did what the defense wanted him to do; shoot from the outside or challenge the big man under the rim. Either way, the offense was also ruined.

Before Game 5, the Rockets maintained good center efficiencies: 35.9 percent in G1, 41.5 in G2, 40 in G3 and 42.4 in G4, but at the cost of cutting production. As a team that took 45.3 attempts, the best in the league, and made 15.6 of them, which was also No. 1 in the league, per game in the regular season, the Rockets in the first four games shot just 38 triples on average . That was far from enough for the team to attack in the way they preferred.

Then there was Westbrook. One of the reasons the Rockets did it by trading Chris Paul last summer was that they needed his carrying capacity against the rim. Still, Westbrook came back late from a playoff injury and apparently still lacked enough leg strength. Plus, the Lakers had Anthony Davis cover for him, making it even more difficult for Westbrook to play his role on offense. As for his shooting problem, that was something the Rockets should have accepted when they introduced him.

What can the Rockets do about their problems?

Unfortunately, there is not much. Let’s start with Harden again. Yes, he has been the league’s leading scorer three times in a row. Yes, he has improved his defense. Yes, he is one of the best passers in the current NBA. Yet it became what it is today by refining what stands out. He has the maximum strength to be a guard, but that comes from his weight: more than 100 kilograms. Meanwhile, he does not enjoy high-level athletics. So it’s unrealistic to expect him to develop pull-ups from Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant.

So can the Rockets find better replacements for their role players? That is an impossible mission too. Ever since Clint Capela was dispatched, the team has moved toward their centerless microbead style. That is why they needed the following qualities in role players: they must be strong enough to take on the greats on defense; they must be able to stretch the space; they must be fast enough to change everything. If you ask them to be able to handle the ball above all of those as well, you will want someone whose name is Khris Middleton or Jimmy Butler whose salaries are double or even triple those of PJ Tucker and Robert Covington.

As for Westbrook, he’s been playing like he did since he joined the league, and that’s what people liked, too. Asking Westbrook to learn to play off the ball or develop reliable 3s will be even more difficult than ditching his three-year, $ 132 million contract. By the way, no general manager in their right mind will accept that contract and give the Rockets what they need.

That said, the Rockets really need someone who can share Harden’s offensive load in a different way than Westbrook today. He must have reliable 3s, can drive to the basket, be able to orchestrate the offense and know how to make a game off the ball. Did that sound like Paul in 2018? That was the closest the Rockets came to reaching the Finals in the past 25 years.