Rockets Battle Thunder One Last Time in Decisive Game 7
Execution Time. Crumbling Cookie. The Last Dance.
“I’ve gone where the universe takes me my whole life. It’s better to make those decisions for yourself.” It’s one of my favorite quotes of all time. A line from El Camino, the Breaking Bad spinoff-film. And it’s an idea the Rockets need to take to heart, as Houston battles OKC tonight in a decisive Game 7. A matchup that will decide who advances to the next round, and which team’s bubble gets burst and sent home packing. Coming into this series, many expected a tight series. However, the way this battle has unraveled has had twists, turns, and seismic momentum shifts. Regardless of who wins tonight, the Rockets are the better team, but they might not be the better executioner. In all six games of their first round series, Houston has led the game with less than two minutes remaining. Yet, due to their inability to execute in crunch time against the wise, vengeful Chris Paul, we’ve got a 3-3 series, with tonight’s winner moving on to play the Lakers. It’s pretty simple for the Rockets if they want to advance. Houston needs to blast out of the gates and not even allow this decisive game to include any crunch time. Every Rocket victory has been a blowout, whilst every loss has been a nail-biting, heartbreaking defeat.
This is the biggest game in the James Harden era. And it’s not close. Even without Russell Westbrook, the Rockets held a 2-0 series edge, and were on the cusp of a commanding 3-0 series lead, before the Thunder rallied to win Game 3, and the tide of the series began to turn in OKC’s favor. Despite their being no “home-court advantage”, due to everyone playing in Orlando. Oddly enough, the “home” team (squad with the lower seed), has won every game in this series. Houston’s praying that trend continues, as they’ll be considered the “home” squad in Wednesday’s do-or-die battle that will end one team’s season. And possibly an era. Chris Paul’s only getting older. But the CP3-Thunder era has only lasted a year. For Houston’s personnel, the situation’s different. Mike D’Antoni has thrived as head coach since taking over for the Rockets in 2016, yet a loss tonight, and it could be his last game on as coach on Houston’s sidelines. These rumors surfaced earlier in the season, long before coronavirus. Reminds me of this summer’s ESPN documentary, The Last Dance, named for iconic coach Phil Jackson’s final run with the legendary Michael Jordan and those Chicago Bulls. Gossip has already surfaced that the Indiana Pacers, who fired their coach Nate McMillan (after being swept by the Miami Heat), are interested in D’Antoni’s services. Hopefully, Mike won’t be needed in Indy. Yes. His job’s on the line tonight. But for the Rockets, it’s more than just their head coach.
In the NBA, where the game has evolved over the years from inside oriented to a perimeter three-point fest, the Rockets are the epitome of this mantra. No one lives and dies by the three like Houston. It’s not even close. And if the Rockets want to avoid another nail-biter down the stretch, especially in a sudden-death scenario, they’re going to have to make a change. They’ve displayed time and again this series, they have multiple players who can get to the rim with relative ease. Specifically the obvious drivers with no regard for human life: Harden, Westbrook, and Eric Gordon. And Houston also has Austin Rivers, who’s shown dominant isolation performances in the bubble at times, and guys like Danuel House Jr. and Ben McLemore, who despite their trigger happy fingers, need to attack if the long bombs aren’t falling. The Rockets have stuck with this “live by the three, die by three mantra” all season. Now, in a regular season game, that style can win or lose you games, just depends if the shots are falling. In a Game 7 with legacies on the line, Houston has to come out a much more focused. Even more importantly, they need to add on to any early lead the squad can maintain.
The Rockets have been outplayed by the Thunder thrice in this series, despite having the lead in all of those games under the two-minute mark. Despite the extra point, and the beautiful arc and sound of a deep swish, the three-point land has is killing Houston. Or, to be accurate, the Rockets are killing themselves by stubbornly relying on a potential extra point from beyond. Tonight, the “live or die by the three” theme needs to be tossed out to window. In a Game 7, with seasons, legacies, and careers on the line… every single possession counts. Turnovers, and poor shot and decision-making have to be rare for the Rockets tonight. Chris Paul’s on a roll, and he’s got almost the entire country (outside of Houston) rooting for his Thunder to pull the upset. The pundits are eager to unleash more Harden hate. The Russ haters who believe he stat pads are ready to laugh if he gets beat by the 35-year-old, Chris Paul, who was supposed to be “over-the-hill.” The only hill Paul’s over right now is the one the Russ and the Rockets are occupying. One’s going to fall off. One of the smartest players of all time, CP3 is going to make the right decisions tonight on the court. Will Houston have the mental capacity to change their stubborn permitter ways if the shots aren’t falling? Do they realize, there’s no second chances. A loss, and the season ends tonight. No more, “oh, that shot looked good, so I took it.” No, you pump fake, you move the ball around, you find the best shot possible, like the Rockets did on their best possession of the season, four minutes into Game 4. There’s no time to look back. No more time to hope Houston figures out a way to save their season. Will this be Mike D’Antoni’s “Last Dance?” Will the Rockets continue to shoot themselves into oblivion, or dribble some common sense back into their game? They’ve gone where Moreyball and D’Antoni’s schemes have taken them all season. Tonight… the Rockets need to stray from the Morey-verse, and realize, as players… sometimes it’s better to make those decisions for yourself.
AdventHealth Arena: Orlando, Florida
Jersey Colors:
Oklahoma City Thunder (3-3): White
Houston Rockets (3-3): Black
TV: 8 PM CT – ESPN, AT&T Sportsnet SW
Take the shot you can make! Let’s close em out, please!!