Rockets? Not at all desperate.
The Rockets have dropped their last three games, by considerable margins each time.
It doesn’t matter.
It doesn’t matter because at the start of this closing stretch of five Western Conference playoff teams (OKC, Golden State (sorry, play in), Lakers, Clippers, Nuggets) the Rockets took care of business early.
First they beat OKC in OKC, which hasn’t happened much this season. Perhaps the Thunder weren’t trying that hard, with first place sewn up. You wouldn’t have guessed that from their lineup, and minutes played, though. With this win the Rockets secured home court in the first round of the playoffs no matter what.
Next they beat Golden State in the enbayed region, a game Golden Stated needed (as you will later see). The win wasn’t especially close, and should really have been a greater margin for the Rockets, but Golden State gets a special set of rules for certain players, and also got superb shooting from some unlikely players. Also, props to Ime Udoka for trolling Steph Curry’s whining.
Steph Curry, by the way, according to Golden State’s TV crew, is the “most mentally strong player in the NBA.” How do they know this? I haven’t a clue, but they spoke those words without hesitation, who am I to argue? Not merely “one of the mentally strongest players in the NBA” which is difficult to contest. The mostest and bestest. Even though James Harden of the Clippers outplayed Steph in their game’s overtime today. A loss that probably will send the Warriors to Houston in Round One, annoyingly.
Back to the Rockets. Their win over the Warriors, combined with other results, secured second place in the Western Conference. The next three games? They didn’t matter to the Rockets, except for, perhaps pride?
Nope. Ime Udoka proved that while he demands effort and hard-nosed play, he’s not going to risk his starters on the road in meaningless games. So the Rockets dropped games in Los Angeles, first at The Not As Great Western Forum, and the second at Ballmer’s Tomb. If Golden State’s TV crew knows that Steph Curry is the mentally strongest player in the NBA, what’s stopping me from proclaiming that Steve Ballmer has a crypt beneath half court in his magnificent arena, and will be interred there when he dies? Nothing. So, I Intuit, and then proclaim that Ballmer’s Future Crypt is beneath midcourt. He will always support his Clippers, now, and into the hereafter.
Anyhow, the Lakers secured 3rd place, and today the Nuggets secured 4th place in the West. Good for them. The Rockets obviously didn’t care much, and basically played the starters for the Houston fans there for the last regular season game. We know this because Udoka trotted out the starters (minus Jabari) for one half, and a bit of this game, and then sent in The Rest. It was nice for the starters to shake a bit of rust off, but Denver was actually playing for something, and playing hard.
So, the Rockets lost another game they didn’t care about. It would have been good to see a better showing from Jalen Green, who, Iron Man Season (along with…Chris Paul?) complete, now can rest his legs a bit. He played well against the Thunder and Warriors, so my concern level over the last three games is very low.
I really don’t think this result today matters at all. The Rockets won’t play until Saturday, at a minimum. For a team that expends as much energy, that plays as hard, as the Rockets, rest will help them, I think.
In the meantime, James Harden’s and Kawhi Leonard’s clutch performance against the Warriors sent Golden State all the way to the play in, while Clippy claimed 5th place, and will play Denver.
The Rockets will play the winner of Tuesday’s contest between the Grizzlies and the Warriors taking place in The Territory Abutting A Bay. While I think the Rockets can beat either team, I’d prefer the Grizzlies, despite their new Euro Coach. The Rockets hadn’t beaten Golden State in approximately forever until this season. I fear The NBA Narrative that I believe demands a Lakers v Warriors second round series, and a lot of “Steph Fall Down, Steph Shoot FT”, as well as untrammeled sociopathy masquerading as basketball.
As for Rockets game stuff? Why bother? You almost certainly won’t see the deep bench in any meaningful playoff minutes. Again, I truly think it’s meaningless. This was the NBA equivalent of NFL Preseason Football: low effort injury avoidance, and absolutely vanilla offense and defense. Even with the starters playing, the weren’t really playing, if you know what I mean.
I’ll have playoff thoughts for you later in the week.
Meanwhile, celebrate a very successful Rockets season while we await our opponent, and don’t worry much, if any, about the past three games.