It’s been a tumultuous season for the Houston Rockets. Any championship aspirations they had after last season’s deep post-season run which ended abruptly against the Golden State Warriors in the Conference finals have vanished. the Rockets have failed and failed miserably to build on that run.
Reportedly, Dwight Howard and James Harden just aren’t meshing. Quite the opposite, they’re having trouble coexisting. Howard has regressed since leaving Orlando – a move that has sent his career into a downward spiral in hindsight – and has brought trouble with him in both Los Angeles and Houston. That trouble that he brings is just one of many things – his effort, health, and overall regression as a basketball player have also led Houston to shop him vigorously before the trade deadline.
No bites – none at all. No team was interested in taking on Dwight Howard in a rental scenario, certainly not for the assets they’d have to sacrifice. So for another two months, Houston is stuck with Dwight Howard and forced to make it work. They have no other choice but to figure it out now in order to, at the very least, hold on to that 8th seed – a scenario which sees them get decimated by the Warriors in the first round.
To recap: Houston is living a nightmare scenario.
It’s not that Dwight Howard is a bad player by any means, it’s just difficult to see him leading the Rockets anywhere. Howard could never stretch the floor or hit free-throws. His post-game is still good, but it’s not what it was in 2009. As a rim protector, Howard is still intimidating, but it’s easy to see why there was a lack of interest around the league for him. These days, he’s a poor man’s DeAndre Jordan, and you never know which Dwight Howard is going to show up on a nightly basis.
The team had character issues stemming from the start of the season. The Ty Lawson experiment was a complete disaster, so they had to buy him out. Interestingly enough, they just signed Michael Beasley, seemingly learning nothing about the character issues they’ve had. Signing Beasley does seem ironic, but also points to a hint of desperation. The Rockets are looking for answers from anywhere possible, but given that Beasley was averaging just over 31 ppg in China, he might be able to help fill a need at the four spot where the Rockets lack production.
The Rockets can still make it work, but plays like the one below make you shake your head. Everything from the decision-making to the proceeding reaction after a miserably-failed play, this team is going through a bizarre time.
Houston hasn’t won at the Air Canada Center in their last eight tries, but somehow the Raptors could fall into a trap here. The Rockets still have a top-10 player in James Harden, who, despite not getting much support from his teammates, is having a solid season and is 2nd in the league in scoring.
In last night’s loss against the Chicago Bulls (who, by the way, are back into the playoff picture, much to the chagrin of many here) Harden scored 36 points, and he’s the only player in the entire league who scores more free throws than DeMar DeRozan.
“Any time he’s on the floor, (Harden) can go off,” Casey said. “The ball usually ends up in his hands, so we’ve got to have four other guys locked in on him. That’s going to be a huge key.”
Matchups
Patrick Beverley vs Kyle Lowry. Edge: Lowry
Patrick Beverley is another Rocket who’s fallen off a bit since last season. His minutes and overall usage is down, but that should change now with Lawson out of the picture. Tonight, he goes up against Kyle Lowry (in my opinion a top-10 player in the league, something which I’ve been grilled for before) who’s having the best season of his career.
Lowry has the edge and more here. Plus, Beverley is annoying.
James Harden vs DeMar DeRozan. Edge: Harden
DeRozan is on the better team, has improved dramatically as a player, and has the better supporting cast; but Harden is the better individual player.
Those who are worried this game might be a drawn-out humdrum riddled with free-throws from these two stars needs to be reminded of this match-up last season:
Trevor Ariza vs Norman Powell. Edge: Ariza
In a couple years, this comparison could be different, but Ariza has experience and is a pretty versatile defender who can shoot. I still expect Powell to be fine out there, though. His play as of late has been impressive, and he’s proven he can shoot the ball at a respectable efficiency while playing sound defense.
Donatas Motiejunas vs Luis Scola. Edge: Tie.
Motiejunas is the better player now, but he’s been niggling with injuries all season and has barely played. It can be argued that his absence is a factor in the Rockets’ struggles this season, as the Lithuanian was pretty productive last season.
Luis Scola hasn’t had a 1st quarter explosion in a few days, he’s probably due for one. Motiejunas still isn’t at 100% health.
Dwight Howard vs Jonas Valanciunas. Edge: Tie
Valanciunas’ growth this season has been tremendous, and you have to feel that within a year or two, he’ll be the better player in this match-up.
For all the criticism Howard gets though, he’s still a pretty solid player in this league and that often gets overlooked. He’s still a walking double-double, and given that he’s surrounded by shooters, he can be really dangerous in put-back situations.
*Note: The match-ups don’t really paint a great picture. Houston has some really good-to-great individual players, but don’t have the same cohesiveness as a team that the Raptors do.
Tip-off is at 6:30 pm EST.
