Rockets’ First Round Preview

Writer: Lucas Garza

The Houston Rockets ended the regular season with the most wins and the league and in franchise history. Finishing 65-17, the Rockets will have home court advantage throughout the entire playoffs, and will play the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round.

The Rockets regular season was one to be remembered. Three winning streaks into the teens, winning season series against the Spurs and Warriors, and having only one bad losing skid (during the holidays) gave fans one the most exciting seasons in Houston ever. With the addition of Chris Paul, P.J. Tucker, and Luc Mbah A Moute, the Rockets defense improved tremendously, along with the dramatic improvement of Clint Capela. Harden and Paul’s games complemented each other, and Paul’s presence gave Mike D’Antoni more rotation options. Trevor Ariza and Ryan Anderson did not play as well as last season, as Anderson dealt with injuries, but Eric Gordon stepped up when he needed to, whether it was a drive off the dribble or a no hesitation 32 ft jump shot. James Harden will finally win the NBA MVP this year after having two runner up finishes in his career.

The Rockets swept the Timberwolves in the season series, winning all four games against the much improved franchise. During most of the the teams’ meetings in the regular season, the Timberwolves were 3rd place in the Western Conference, but Mike Thibodeau’s squad fell to 8th seed in the highly competitive Western Conference. Everyone knows the Rockets like to shoot threes, having set the record for most threes shot in a season and percentage of threes shot from the field (over 50%). In previous matchups, the elegant three point shooting of Houston has encouraged Karl Towns to test his luck from beyond the arc, as well. Although Towns shoots over 40% from three, Thibadeau says he doesn’t like when Towns shoots threes because the Timberwolves lose the chance for the offensive rebound.

Speaking of offensive rebounding, Luc Mbah A Moute was one of the Rockets’ best offensive rebounders in the season, hustling to gather his teammates’ missed threes. In the Rockets’ penultimate game of the season against the Lakers, Mbah A Moute dislocated his shoulder going for a rebound, and has been ruled out of the Rockets’ first series of the playoffs. The Rockets played without Mbah A Moute in over the holiday season, but that was when the Rockets’ had their biggest stumbles of the season. Ryan Anderson will need to comeback to playing full and valuable minutes in the rotation for the Rockets’ to not feel the lack of Mbah A Moute.

The Houston vs. Minnesota series begins Sunday night at the Toyota Center, and the winner of the best of seven series will play the winner of the Thunder vs. Jazz.

How the Rockets Are Rolling

Writer: Lucas Garza

The Houston Rockets have now won eight games in a row, and Chris Paul has been back in the lineup for all eight games. With Chris Paul playing, the Rockets are 9-0, and boasts a 19-4 record overall, leading the Western Conference. During their win streak, the Rockets have won every game by double digits, and have led by at least 20 at some point in the game. Houston’s main rotation has all been steadily producing, even Eric Gordon has been putting up 19 points a game in a shooting slump. Each game, the Rockets have come out of the gates quickly and ready to play, with an early lob from James Harden to Clint Capela usually happening within the first two minutes.

Mike D’Antoni’s run and gun offense has been working well for the Rockets, shooting 44 three pointers per game, and making nearly 37% of those. James Harden, Chris Paul, Ryan Anderson, and Luc Mbah a Moute are all shooting over 40% from downtown. Chris Paul has become a pass first point guard once again, knowing that he has the weapons of Ryan Anderson and Trevor Ariza to knock down shots beyond the arc. Clint Capela has become a physically stronger post player, making more baskets when fouled to avoid missed shots at the foul line. James Harden is putting up MVP type numbers once again, leading the league in both points and assists.

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The Rockets’ bench has been a strong part of the team, and they do a good job when James Harden takes his break at the end of the 3rd and beginning of the 4th quarters. P.J. Tucker, who was anything but a shooter in college, has been making corner threes repeatedly all season, and of course is a strong defensive player. When healthy, Nene can give Capela a rest and wake up opposing players with his size and strength. Most of Eric Gordon’s outside shots haven’t been falling, but they do when he is wide open. He can also drive inside and hit the eight-foot floater. Luc Mbah a Moute is a fast defensive player, who has surprisingly helped the Rockets score as well.

The Rockets are two games into their three game West coast road trip. After playing the Trail Blazers in the Moda Center Saturday night, the Rockets head back to Houston for a seven game homestand without many days off. Besides the Spurs, the Rockets don’t have any opponents coming up that are too tough, and hopefully can keep their win streak going into the New Year.