This season has been a strange one to say the least for the Houston Rockets. From trading for Russell Westbrook to dishing off Clint Capela to Atlanta, the team has a whole new identity that is turning a lot of heads around the league. This extreme style of small-ball that they now play with even more 3’s (if you thought that was even possible) and spacing where there are 5 guys around the arc is allowing Harden and especially Westbrook to flourish.
No Signs of Slowing Down for The Beard
Regardless of Capela being there or not, I am a firm believer that James Harden would still be getting you 30 a night. With his isolation style of play leading to more jump shots than drives to the basket, it wouldn’t matter for a player like Harden if the paint was clogged up or not. That being said, the paint being open just adds one more thing to Harden’s seemingly unguardable offense. The major benefit for Harden this season actually might be this time off. With being such a ball dominant player averaging 23 shots a game, doing it for 70+ regular season games plus a minimum of 12 more games is no easy task. With all of this time to work on his craft and rest, Harden will be more likely to carry some of those crazy numbers into the playoffs.
Seeing the Russ of old
This trade may have been the thing that saves Russell Westbrook’s first season with the Rockets. When Capela was with the team, Westbrook was forced to shoot more threes because Capela is not a threat from the outside, which in turn means that he can’t take it to the basket. With this new spacing, Westbrook gets to take guys one on one where he can drive and score at will and also be able to pull up for mid-range jumpers, which is more in his consistent shooting range.
Since the trade, Russ has been decreasing the amount of 3’s he is taking because he does not have to shoot them anymore. With Robert Covington coming in to play the PF position and PJ Tucker sliding to Center, their outside shooting ability is what makes the paint so open for Westbrook to attack. With that, when help defense slides down, he will be able to hit Tucker or Covington for a corner 3, which Tucker has made a specialty of his in Houston. All of this is what is leading him to average 31 pts, 8 boards and 5 assists in the last 11 games.
Will the Glue Hold for the Houston Rockets?
When I refer to the ‘glue’ of this team, I’m not referring to only one player, I am referring to everybody else besides Harden and Westbrook. This is because with the exception of Eric Gordon (Out 2-3 Weeks: Ankle) everybody in the rockets rotation is averaging less than 15 points a game. With Gordon being the second best three point shooter on the team, those points need to be picked up. I think the Rockets will be able to do this because they have been committing to the small-ball mentality, which in turn will lead to a higher percentage from deep. I believe if Houston plans to make a serious run in the playoffs, guys like Austin Rivers, Ben McLemore, PJ Tucker and Robert Covington will need to continue shooting 3’s at a 35-40% clip.
My Take
Though it may seem hard to believe, the Rockets in my opinion do have a legitimate chance to play in the WCF. People will argue that their lack of defense is what will kill them, but they are currently 16th in the NBA in defensive rating. Since the Covington trade, the teams overall defense has only gotten better.
The Houston Rockets’ new defense is loaded with versatile players who can defend down low and outside the arc. They’re also able to switch so often on pick and rolls which will allow them to slow down heavy pick and roll teams like Portland and Utah.
People will also argue that they will not be able to get enough rebounds to win games. To counter that, it has been proven many times that being the best rebounding team does not guarantee championships. The Mavs team in 2011 that had some massive bodies on it only was 14th. That back-to-back in Miami in 2012 and 2013 was done while being 21st and 30th consecutively in rebounding.
In my most honest opinion, I think the Rockets will most likely be a second round exit. That being said, DO NOT sleep on this team or count them out. They have the talent to compete with the best of the West.
The Rockets begin their NBA restart Friday night @9PM vs Dallas. If small-ball turns out to be successful in these next 8 regular season games, watch out for Houston this postseason.