Pressure Cooker: Rockets Clash with Thunder in Pivotal Game 5
Happy Beard Day. Time to Get Free’d Up. Redemption Russ?
“I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore!”, one of the famous rants in Network, an overlooked piece of nostalgic cinema from the 1970’s. After Game 4’s frustrating loss to OKC, James Harden appeared to be taking this mantra to heart. The Bread pushed over a hand sanitizer machine as he walked back to the locker room after the embarrassing loss. Even without Westbrook, Harden and the Rockets should beat this Thunder team. However, they’ve surrendered double-digit leads in the past two games, making life much more difficult for themselves. What once looked like a probable sweep, has now turned into a “who wants it more” best-of-three series. Tonight’s winner gets one step closer to advancing, while the loser gets pushed to the brink of elimination. If Houston wants to alleviate the pressure of being in a win-or-go-home situation, the Rockets need to push the Thunder to the edge of elimination in Game 5. More drives to the rim for Houston, and stopping OKC’s bench are keys to getting off to a hot start for the Rockets.
Tonight’s pivotal momentum swinging game in this series also happens to fall on the birthday of one of the players who’ll be suiting up for action on the court. In fact, the best player on the court tonight was born today, 31 years ago. It’s the first time James Harden has played on his birthday. Houston will heavily rely on their superstar to be at his best, on a night when the Rockets upgraded Westbrook’s status from “out” to “questionable.” The real question is… does Houston need to rush Brodie back in Game 5? Or should they let him get fully healthy for Games 6 and 7, if the Rockets fall tonight. The choice is in the hands of Russ, who will test his quad and is listed as a game-time decision. I don’t know if this is bit of a chess move by Houston, putting the idea out there that Russ is returning… maybe to motivate the Rockets, and instill a little fear in the Thunder. We all know Westbrook’s licking his chomps to get revenge against his former team. But is the time for vengeance necessary tonight? Or can the Beard, on his birthday, carry the squad back in the right direction? We’ll know in a matter of hours.
What we know now, is two aspects need to change if Houston wants to start making noise in this series, and tune the Thunder out. First, Dennis Schroder has to be a priority on defense. Schroder’s layups are starting to resemble snatching candy from a newborn. It’s just two easy for OKC’s Sixth Man of the Year, who has been the key, along with Chris Paul, to getting the Thunder back in this series. As great as he is on defense, Robert Covington is much more effective as a weak-side defender helping in a stitching scheme, like Houston often runs on defense. However, when isolated with a quick guard, RoCo puts himself in trouble, and Schroder has exposed this area of Houston’s defense. The German has to be stopped, if the Rockets want to regain the momentum in this series.
The other aspect of this series that needs to change, are free throws. In Game 4, Houston attempted a season-low 10 free throws, while the Thunder had 28 shots at the charity stripe. Along with their live-and-die by the three mantra, free throws are the Rockets bread-and-butter. Houston has to be more aggressive, and focus on driving to the basket. Regardless of how poor the officiating is, there’s no reason OKC should have 18 more free throws than Houston in a game. Nonetheless, the Rockets should get hit more and sent to the line tonight. Harden leads the league in free throws. And on his birthday, everything’s free for the Beard. Expect Harden to have a potential career-defining performance, if he can carry these Rockets within one game of advancing, without Russ, would be impressive. Hopefully the rest of the Rockets attack and defend with more hyperactivity. When OKC scores 115 points, they rarely lose. Houston held them under this mark in the first two games, and won. The Rockets let the Thunder strike past this mark in Games 3 and 4, with both games resulting in Houston losses. The defense has to sharpen up, or the Rockets are in trouble, whether Russ comes back tonight or not. Personally, I would hold him out for another game, but if he really thinks he can give it close to 100%, I’d let the decision fall in Westbrook’s hands. Time will tell. It’s told multiple times in this series, to expect the unexpected. On the Beard’s birthday, I’d let Harden give the Rockets a chance at guiding them to a win, like he did in Games 1 and 2. We’ll see what happens. Celebrating will be in the air. Harden wants a victory on his birthday more than anything, and as a result the upper hand in this series. Look for Harden to gift himself a present on his birthday. If you think the Rockets are losing tonight, you don’t know the Beard… he’s not taking this anymore.
HP Field House: Orlando, Florida
Jersey Colors:
Oklahoma City Thunder (2-2): Orange
Houston Rockets (2-2): Black
TV: 5:30 PM CT – TNT, AT&T Sportsnet SW