Firing on All Cylinders, Rockets Wallop Warriors, 135-105
Beautiful Execution. Perfect Fit. Tune-Up.
“You know, sometimes I amaze even myself,” Han Solo reveals in the Star Wars film, A New Hope. It may have been against the NBA’s worst team, but the Rockets finally did what they were supposed to do, and earned a much-needed blowout victory over the Warriors, 135-105, on Thursday night. In the first game back after the All-Star break, when most players are shaking off rust from the season’s longest break, a 30-point road victory is at least a tad amazing. At least to myself. The fact Houston showed little rust, and finally avoided any major letdowns throughout the game revealed this team just might have its mindset focused on the stretch run. James Harden led the way for the Rockets with 29 points and 10 assists, but Houston contributions from many parties, with 12 players seeing court time for coach Mike D’Antoni. Russell Westbrook finished with 21 points and 10 assists, but was ejected in the fourth quarter, after receiving his second tech of the night. As Houston moves forward in the season, Brodie has to be careful. Westbrook now has 13 technical fouls on the season. Only three tech’s away from 16, the amount that gets a player fined and a one-game suspension. There’s only two more back-to-backs this season for Houston. The Rockets are a completely different team without Brodie, and can’t afford to lose Russ beyond his resting on the remaining back-to-backs.
I can’t remember a player fitting in as seamlessly and quickly on a new team as Robert Covington. RoCo continues to be sensational starting for the Rockets. Covington scored 20 points, hit 5-of-10 three’s, and had 4 blocked shots for good measure. The combination of P.J. Tucker and RoCo creates havoc for opposing offenses. Since Covington’s arrival in Houston, it’s this dynamic defensive duo that’s most responsible for the Rockets forcing the most turnovers in the NBA, by a wide margin. It was hard to see Clint Capela leave, but it turns out it was the right move. Houston’s a visceral beast with Covington in exchange of Capela. And the new pieces they added could make them even more ferocious.
The only player that comes to mind when I think of RoCo’s debut, is Jeff Green, who had his Rockets debut, along with DeMarre Carroll, on Thursday night. Carroll only played 13 minutes, scoring 2 points on a pair of free throws. It was Green who made the night his own. Green saw 24 minutes of action, registering 17 points, including 4-of-5 from long range, and grabbed four boards. After this performance, unless Green falls under a rock, expect Houston to extend his 10-day contract when it expires, and sign him for the rest of the season. Jeff Green’s length is a vital component to the Rockets’ defense, who’s small-ball, switch-heavy style can use as much length as possible. If Houston doesn’t decide to keep Green, I’ll be shocked. What won’t be shocking, is a loss in the Rockets’ next game. The first game after the break in the Bay was just a tune-up for Saturday night’s showdown.
Up next, the squad heads to Salt Lake City to battle the Jazz. Utah’s fans are loud, obnoxious, and give the Jazz a true home-court advantage. This is the best Utah team since the days of John Stockton and Karl Malone. Yes, they’re that good. Combine that with the altitude, and Salt Lake City is the toughest place to play in the league this year. But they’re beatable. Houston already won earlier this season in Utah. And that was without Harden and Westbrook. The date was also much closer to the tragedy in Los Angeles, and teams were still visibly shook. On Saturday, expect to see the Jazz that shocked the Rockets at the buzzer the last time Houston faced Utah. Houston will need raise their intensity level against the Jazz, or they’ll be tuned out. But as the Rockets showed on Thursday… sometimes they even amaze themselves.