With Russell Westbrook out, the Houston Rockets would have to change in the James Harden show. Instead, they led their first-round 2-0 against the Oklahoma City Thunder on behalf of everyone except Harden. The former Houston MVP shot 5 of 16 for a pedestrian (by his standards) 21 points. It did nothing. Houston won 111-98 over Oklahoma City. Seven Rockets hit double figures in what was an amazingly balanced attack.
The Thunder now have their backs against the wall, but if they can take anything away from this game, it’s that they’re something with Lu Dort. The rookie, who missed Game 1, took the Harden assignment himself and absolutely flummoxed the NBA’s leading score. The Thunder must return to the drawing board offensively, but if they can keep Harden that way, they will be able to make this a series. Here are the key takeaways from Houston’s profits.
Here are the top three takeaways from last night’s Rockets victory.
1. The Rockets reflect everything we thought we knew about them
The assumption entering the mail season was that Houston’s profits, broadly, would rely on three things:
- James Harden magic
- Outshooting of their opponents
- Win the fierce battle every night
Well, James Harden was kept in complete control in this game. His 5-of-16 shot line does not do justice to his cravings. Three of those shots came in garbage time. While Houston hit 19 19-pointers, they shot just 33.9 percent behind the arc, worse than Oklahoma City in Game 2. They were even dead in fouls and took one less free throw.
And it did nothing. The Rockets won. They won despite having two lead-ball handlers who shot 11-of-36 from the field and 2-of-21 on 3s. But their seven total Rockets reached double figures, and they kept Oklahoma City up to just 98 points behind their changing defense. Size remains a weakness, but defenses that deflect and strip as often as Houston does will always be problematic for ball managers. The Thunder lay on three point guards and even they have problems with Houston.
Harden is not going to fight every night. Russell Westbrook will be back soon. They will normally hit a higher percentage of their 3s. We all knew that already. What we did not know was if they could win if these things did not work in their favor. But today was proof. The Rockets can win, even if the game is not played on their terms. They do not have to sign 40 free throws or get 50 points from Harden. This is a championship caliber team.
2. We see a Defensive Player of the Year candidate flourishing before our very eyes
James Harden, former MVP, perhaps the greatest one-on-one score in NBA history, shot 2-of-13 from the field for the first 42 or so minutes of this game. He padded his stats a bit in the final minutes, hitting his last three shots, but that only came after Thunder rookie Lu Dort removed to correct her foul. There, Harden scored for the vast majority of this game, and he did it, essentially, by himself.
This was Dort’s first playoff game. He crashed perhaps the best attacking player on Earth and shot himself completely. That should come as no surprise to anyone who has watched Dort all season, but the list of rookies who have done such a thing in the postseason is extremely short. There will be one of the strongest defenders in basketball in the coming years. Today was his outing party.
3. Jeff Green is a point guard now?
Something terribly familiar happened in the late stages of this game. Houston, behind a Chris Paul-led team, went on a furious run with James Harden on the bench led by a non-shooter. Jeff Green is not quite as clichéd as Josh Smith, but he led the Houston run in a very different way. Yes, he made 3-pointers, but more importantly, Houston essentially allowed him to function as a point guard.
Houston kicked with three when Harden left the game in the third quarter. She led by 11 when he returned. This is unlikely to be Green’s permanent role. Westbrook will eventually return, but it’s a fun trick to have in your back pocket. Green’s ball handling for his size has always been a strength, but it’s never been armed this way.
