Rockets – Mavs: Puttin Em’ Down
The Houston Rockets are in the second round of the playoffs for the first time since the 2008-2009 series (not as TNT would have you believe, 1997, which is dumb). All series long Houston has received major contributions from their foundation, James Harden, but also the maturation and buy-in of Dwight Howard and Josh Smith, and the x-factor play of Corey Brewer.
For now, Houston fans need to bask in the glow of their victory over in-state rival Dallas. They earned the win and the won in a convincing fashion. In this series we saw Josh Smith show beyond a shadow of a doubt that he has bought in to the Rockets. We saw Dwight Howard find a niche that maximizes his strengths and happiness. James Harden showed what clutch truly means. Old habits also crept in and refused to die.
Josh Smith
Really, the contributions of Josh Smith were best summed up by Kevin McHale. In the post-game presser after game 5, McHale is overheard telling Josh Smith “I’m proud of you.” In five games, Smith averaged 25.6 minutes per game, 17 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists per game. Smith’s presence on defense deterred shots at the rim, consistently, and his synergy with old AAU teammate Dwight Howard pulled the Rockets out of slumps consistently.
Dwight Howard
If Smith was a key to this series then Howard was unlocked. Dwight played in just 41 regular season games for Houston after struggling with knee and ankle injuries all year. The big guy roared into the post-season playing some of his most focused, effective, and yet somewhat humble basketball of his career. Howard averaged 17 points, 14 rebounds, and 3 blocks per game. Howard emphasized throughout the series that he knew his role was to contribute defense and chip in where necessary. He did just that and Houston is better for it.
James Harden
Trivia time! Only two Rockets in franchise history have averaged 25 points and 5 assists or better in their playoff career. Who are they?
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James Harden and Tracy McGrady. McGrady contributed 28 points, 7 assists, and 7 rebounds in three years as a Rocket. Harden has chipped in 25 points, 6 assists, and 4 rebounds a game as the Rockets franchise player. James still has at least one more playoff series and another year before he matches McGrady’s three-year tenure.
One thing was well on display in this series for Harden, though. He is a franchise player who knows how to deliver. When the Rockets needed a basket, James was there to provide it. When a stop was needed, James showed up to pick off passes and play the lane. If you were still on the fence about Harden’s MVP worthiness (you weren’t), this series should have slammed the door shut on that. 28 points, 8 assists, and 4 rebounds a game is clearly not messing around.
Corey Brewer
It’s impossible to love Corey Brewer more than you already do. Brewer’s 14 points and 3 rebounds per game doesn’t jump out at you. Brewer’s lane gambling habits fell off a cliff (2 steals per game in the regular season, .4 in the playoffs). Despite all that, however, Brewer’s impact would rival that of Josh Smith and Dwight Howard’s.
Brewer pushed the tempo when the Rockets were stalled and compelled the Mavericks defense to adjust. Even if Brewer wasn’t getting to the line or converting his shots, he was forcing teams to get out of space and freeing teammates up to produce while also putting fouls on Mavericks players. Brewer’s work, by no small measure, freed up the Rockets to do significant damage this series even if Corey didn’t get his stats padded.
Old habits
If one thing will damn these Rockets it’s turnovers. Roughly 14 turnovers per game. 14 turnovers per game while registering 7 steals and 5 blocks per game is not going to be enough for the Rockets to survive. Their rebounding differential will need to be roughly +3 against teams in order to offset the 14 turnovers to their 12 stops to win games.
Injured teams like the Mavericks won’t pose too much of a threat with such sloppy plays. Teams like the Spurs will. Although we’re not definitively facing the Spurs, Gregg Popovich is 12-1 when the Spurs lead 3-2 in a series.
Coach McHale
Yes, he gets his own special section here. McHale has received the buy-in of his players, enfranchised every personality, and has a battle-tested group of players in front of him. Really, at this point, is anyone shocked that the Rockets are playing fairly strong basketball with everyone filling their roles perfectly?
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If Phil Jackson was the zen-master then Kevin McHale is Atticus Finch (If you don’t get the reference, go read To Kill a Mockingbird and become a better human). His team doesn’t do right by him out of fear of repercussion, they do right by him because that’s how you honor someone who goes to war with you. This team is endeared to him in a special way and they reward his faith in them. It’s a beautiful thing to watch.
Keep an eye out over the next few days for our playoff preview of the Houston Rockets in the second round!
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