Rockets, Harden, Man of the House, Exact Revenge on Pelicans, 108-104
Bearding in the Big Easy. This House Always Wins. Continue the Grind.
Houston led by as many as 15 points last night, and played one of their best team efforts of the season. Despite a comeback bid from the Pelicans that made the game competitive on the final quarter, the Rockets came out the on top in New Orleans, closing out the Pelicans 108-104, and winning the 9th of their last 10 games. The Rockets proved they can win anywhere despite their road record remaining below average at the moment, and James Harden made “Bearding” look as simple as 1, 2, 3 in the Big Easy as he scored 40 points for the third consecutive game. The Beard finished with 41 points, 9 boards, 6 assists. Oh, don’t forget about the 3 blocks and 2 steals for the superstar they say doesn’t play defense. James Harden put in yet another dominant performance, as he outplayed Anthony Davis (including hitting a clutch step-back 3 late in the game over the Brow) in a battle of the league’s top scorers. Harden also put his name in the NBA-history books, which he seems to be rewriting with each electric performance. The Beard joined the great Oscar Robertson, as the only players in NBA history to record 35 points and 5 assists in 7 straight games. Harden also tied Michael Jordan for 4th on the NBA’s streak of games with 35 or points or more. Kobe holds the record with 13 games in a row scoring 35 or more points. Rockets fans need to appreciate this historic streak. James Harden is proving himself as one of the all-time greats as this season flies before our eyes. Just like Olajuwon, players like the Beard only come around once in a lifetime, and the Rockets know how fortunate they are to have their Bearded-leader. Houstonians must not take this for granted. It’s hard because he makes everything look so easy. Putting up video game numbers. Watch closely and you’ll see effort-wise and as vocal leader is where Harden’s game ahs improved the most. He’s truly leading the team this year. Last season he was deserved of the MVP, and the team’s best player, but Chris Paul was their leader, and it showed when CP3 got injured in the playoffs as the Rockets’ season came to an end. Harden will have to somehow continue “Bearding” through what the oncoming onslaught that is Houston’s most difficult 5-game stretch of the entire season, featuring matchups with the teams who are atop their respective conferences in the Milwaukee Bucks and the Denver Nuggets. Not to mention a date with the Warriors, at Oracle arena, in the Bay Area in what will be the Rockets’ first game of 2019 (and biggest challenge of the entire season so far). This stretch will big Houston’s most challenging of the season, and if they can pass is without Chris Paul, is should only boost their confidence even further for the playoffs.
James Harden has obviously been the best player in basketball for over a month. The difference-maker and guy who’s flying under the radar outside of Houston, is Danuel House Jr. Since inserting House into the starting lineup, the Rockets improved to 4-0, and have yet to lose. James Ennis returns on Monday, but don’t be surprised if House keeps his starting spot. The man has more than earned his playing time. House plays his heart out every night like P.J. Tucker and his addition to the team gave the Rockets the much-needed toughness and grit they were lacking when they got off to a struggling start. Last night, House had himself somewhat of a breakout performance on Saturday night in New Orleans. House was everywhere on both ends of the floor like he’s been since signing with Houston. This time he made a little noise in the box score as well with 15 points, 4 rebounds, a dime, and a swipe as he continues to make a difference, no matter who he shares court time with. Daryl Morey and co. made a gamble and it paid off big time. The house didn’t win. Morey and Houston’s House won, and it’s paid big dividends for both parties. The Rockets have been a different team since House joined the squad and has added depth to help place the loss of Trevor Ariza (House is currently on a 2-way contract that soon expires, which will then allow the Rockets to give him a one-way contract for the rest of the season). Speaking of depth, Austin Rivers continued to be sensational playing in a Rocket uniform. Rivers chipped in 10 points for the third-straight game, but was more aggressive opening up plays for teammates, leading the team with 7 assists. He has been another necessary installment to Houston’s system they were sorely lacking to start the season. An irritant in the backcourt. And just like the sorely missed Patrick Beverly, Austin Rivers is an irritant to opposing teams with his constant effort and in-your-face-defense. He’s a better shooter than Beverly, and his smooth transition into the Rockets system has been fascinating to watch. It’s as if he’s been with the Rockets the entire system. The definition of a “perfect-fit.” The Rockets improved to 3-0 since acquiring Austin Rivers, another player from the second unit who does the little things to make a big difference. Speaking of making a difference, Nene has been arguably the wisest and most mistake-prone player on Houston. Plus/minus is a funny stat. It can be seen as a sign of coincidences. Or if the numbers are consistent one on end or the other, the stat can really show mind-boggling evidence of the difference a player’s presence makes on the floor, especially when accounting for minutes played. To give a few examples of who is really making the stat one worth taking a glance at let’s look at Danuel House: House has been on the plus side in almost every game he’s played in, making the case that he always makes a positive difference on the floor. If you’re watching the games, you can see the obvious difference he brings to the Rockets in terms of hustle and defensive pressure, stats that don’t always show up in the box score, but certainly affect a player’s plus/minus. The reason I’m bringing this stat up is it really shows the difference, Nene, in limited playing time, really makes when he’s on the floor. Nene has played only 25 minutes in the last 2 games combined, but he has a staggering plus/minus of +40 in those two contests, meaning the Rockets outscored their opponent by 40 points in the 25 minutes Nene was on the floor in the past two games. That’s not a coincidence. Nene’s veteran presence, toughness, and basketball-IQ are such an overlooked yet precious part of the Rockets system. The big man is one of the backups for Clint Capela. Despite Capela’s all-star caliber season, the Rockets are obviously weakest at the center position in terms of depth. They have Capela, Nene, Hartenstein (currently in the G league) but it’s by far the weakest spot on the roster in terms of player-depth. Capela had a quite game offensively compared to the hot streak he’d been on with only 6 point and 7 rebounds, but he managed to contain Anthony Davis, with help from Nene, allowing the NBA’s best big man only 22 points and 11 rebounds. Health to the big men is essential for Houston to win a title. People forget, but last season Nene got injured, and the Rockets weren’t the same in the playoffs without him, despite getting so close to the finals. The smallest pieces can still make the biggest differences, even when your biggest star is putting on the show of a lifetime.
Houston needs to continue to grind. Just as Eric Gordon was finding his groove again, he finished one of his more efficient games of the year with 21 points on 9 of 14 shooting, EG went down with a knee injury and is getting an MRI Sunday morning. The severity of the injury is unknown at this time, although it looks to be nothing devastating. It’s just unfortunate as EG will have to find his shooting rhythm once healthy and the leg-strength and using your knees instead of all upper-body strength is key to being a successful shooter. The Rockets can only hope Gordon won’t be out for long, and he’ll be able to find his rhythm he had tonight once he returns to the lineup. Gary Clark should be given an opportunity in minutes. The rookies hasn’t seen much playing time since earlier in the season, but Clark was the brightest part of Houston’s dreadful start and the first of 4 major post-draft acquisitions that have more than made up for the absence of Ariza and Luc. These 4 essential guys being, House, Rivers, Clark, and Ennis. I’ll take a combination of those 4, the first 2 alone, over Ariza and Luc this season any day. They just need more time to fuse together as a unit, and increase some shared court time. The natural chemistry each guy brings is an added-bonus, and Houston now has the only good problem in the NBA to have (how to deal with too much depth). D’Antoni will figure it out, and the Rockets will continue to roll without EG as other members of the squad get more opportunities to prove their worth in D’Antoni’s eyes for more minutes on the floor. Up next for the Rockets, the grind continues, with a visit from the Grizzlies, the team who appropriately nicknamed their arena the “Grindhouse.” The Rockets have been playing with that Grizzly-grind-it-out mentality since the Harden statement dunk against the Lakers to begin his epic record-setting stretch. The Rockets need to continue to play gritty basketball as the toughest 5 game portion of the season begins on New Year’s Eve as the Memphis Grizzlies come to town. Hopefully, more of that Memphis Grizzly grind-it-out style of play will continue to rub-off on the Rockets and they can end 2018 on a high note, and ride into the New Year in style.