Houston Rockets closing in on No. 1 seed, remain unfazed about who’s behind them
Not long after the nine-time All-Star left Los Angeles and headed for the Houston Rockets last summer, he started pounding the point about defense being the all-important factor in their new formula. His superstar pairing with James Harden wouldn’t be enough to topple mighty Golden State – nor would a defense that ranked just 18th in the league last season – and so the statement was sent.
Lo and behold, the Rockets enter these final three weeks of the regular season not only with the NBA’s best record (57-14) but with a defense they can be proud of. They’re 10th in the league, with stars and role players alike allowing just 104.5 points per 100 possessions (down from 106.4 last season).
But when Paul was asked about his message for this final stretch after Houston snapped Portland’s 13-game winning streak Tuesday, his answer spoke volumes about the state of this season for both the Rockets and every other would-be contender.
“Stay healthy,” said Paul, who tweaked his hamstring against the Blazers and is out Thursday vs. Detroit. “Yeah, that’s it with us.”
From the Warriors (53-18) missing their four All-Stars recently to the continuing San Antonio saga with Kawhi Leonard to superstar absences in Minnesota (Jimmy Butler), New Orleans (DeMarcus Cousins) and beyond, injuries have changed the league’s landscape. And the Rockets, winners of 30 of their past 33 games, have taken full advantage of that fact.
Yet as Paul pointed out, the best way to avoid worrying about the uncontrollable is to look at this challenge through a narrow lens. Day by day. Game by game. Win by win. The Rockets, whose general manager just three months ago admitted to being “obsessed” with beating the Warriors, are rolling with blinders on now.
“It’s really about us,” Paul explained. “Keep playing the right way. Keep building. Talking on defense. And play the way that we play. We are who we are.”
And soon enough, that impressive identity will include the distinction of being the top seed in the Western Conference and having homecourt advantage all the way through the playoffs.
The Rockets are up four games on the Warriors with 11 games to go – five once you factor in the tiebreaker they earned by beating Golden State twice in three tries. They have flipped this regular season script, asserting themselves as the team to beat by playing so well that it begs this question: With the Warriors so wounded and this gap so wide, do the Rockets run the risk of losing their edge as the second season nears?
“No,” Paul countered. “Not at all. We just talk about us. Come into the game. We focus. What are we doing? Alright, let’s play.”
As the Rockets were reminded back in October and early November, when Paul missed 14 of the first 15 games with a knee injury and Houston went 10-4 while falling off a bit offensively, even the best teams are one injury away from having to take the hard road. Their defense took a hit in mid-December and January when versatile forward Luc Mbah a Moute dislocated his shoulder, and the Rockets went just 9-6 when he was out, ranking 24th in defense. Harden missed seven games with a hamstring strain around that time as well, and – surprise, surprise – they weren’t at their best.
This version, meanwhile, is a sight to behold. Harden, who leads the league in scoring at 31.2 points per game and is third third in assists at 8.7, is playing like a clear-cut MVP. And Paul (18.8 points, 7.9 assists per) is providing the kind of superstar safety net that wasn’t there last season when Harden struggled so mightily in the second round against San Antonio.
“(Harden is) not playing big minutes, and that’ll help (in the playoffs),” Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni told USA TODAY Sports. “And we’ve got Chris, but we’ve also got Eric Gordon, who can take some of the load. We had a little bit of that last year, but we’ve got a whole lot of people who can take loads off of him. It bodes well.”
Added Gordon: “If you double (Harden), then we’re going to punish you with all these shooters. And if you just want to play him one on one, it’s going to be easy. You can’t meet guys at the rim because you’ve got Clint Capela on lobs. I think (Harden) just has better help than in the past.”
Gordon, averaging 18 points, is having his best season since his 2010-11 campaign with the Clippers. Clint Capela, Trevor Ariza, P.J. Tucker, Mbah a Moute, Ryan Anderson, Gerald Green, Joe Johnson are all crucial in their own way – so long as they’re available.
To that end, the forthcoming playoffs are on track to be as unpredictable as any in recent memory because, well, the Rockets’ rivals are on the mend. The Warriors are expected to have their Super Team back in time for the postseason; the Wolves hope to get Butler back before then too; Leonard, who is dealing with right quadriceps tendinopathy and has played just nine games this season, may be back soon as well.
But when healthy, these Rockets have made it quite clear that they’re as dangerous as anyone. The tricky part, of course, is being on the right side of that qualifier.
Source:-https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/2018/03/22/houston-rockets-closing-no-1-seed-unfazed-warriors/450983002/
