J-Speaks: Soaring Rockets

The Houston Rockets won at the Golden State Warriors on opening night 122-121 on Oct. 17. The victory was the back story on that night because they lost their newest lead guard in perennial All-Star Chris Paul to a knee injury that would cost him the next 14 games. While the Rockets still played solidly without Paul, the question was will he, and last season’s runner up for MVP in All-Star James Harden be able to play well together. They have not only played well together since Paul’s return from injury, the Rockets have yet to lose a game. 

With their latest victory, 108-96 versus the Charlotte Hornets (10-17) this past Wednesday night on ESPN, the Rockets (22-4) won their 11^th game in a row; their 6th win in succession at the Toyota Center, and their 17th win in their last 18 games.

Their 11-game winning streak is their longest since 2008, and those 11 straight wins have come with Paul back in the lineup. The team has averaged 119.6 points during this streak, on 48.8 percent shooting from the floor, and 41.2 from three-point range.  

He led the way for the Rockets with a season-high 31 points, and 11 assists, to along with seven boards, and two steals. 

Paul, who was 10 for 18 from the field, including 5 for 9 from three-point range, became the first player in NBA history to help a team to victory in its first 12 games with him as a starter since the Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman with the Chicago Bulls back in 1995-96.

"It's a lot of fun man," Paul, who for the 38 time in his career had 30 points, and 10 assists, tying  him with six-time NBA champion with the Chicago Bulls, and Hall of Famer Michael Jordan said to Scott Van Pelt on the midnight edition of ESPN's "Sportscenter" after the win.
"The way we share the ball. The pace we play at. The comradery that we have, it's a lot of fun."

Paul also said of tying “MJ,” to Van Pelt, “MJ had 10 assists that many times? Tell him I said it too.” 

Jordan’s former teammate, and fellow Hall of Famer, and six-time champion Scottie Pippen said jokingly “He passed the ball later in his career, later on.”

Harden, who has scored 20 points or more in all 26 games this season had 21 points, and eight assists, even though he shot just 8 for 22 from the floor, including 3 for 10 from three-point range. Gordon had 17 points off the bench, going 4 for 9 from distance, and Trevor Ariza had 13 points, and six boards, going 3 for 7 from three-point range. 

In a contest, where Paul had his finger prints all over the game, it was Harden who led the way for the Rockets in their prior victory, 130-123 versus the New Orleans Pelicans (15-14) on Monday night. The previously MVP runner-up in two of the last three seasons had 26 points; tied a career-high 17 assists, with a franchise tying 14 of them in the opening half and six steals, going 8 for 16 from the field, including 4 for 10 from three-point range.

Harden’s electric night put him on a list of players to put up 25-plus points, 15-plus assists, three-plus three-point makes, and five-plus steals in a single game in NBA history. He joined current Milwaukee Bucks head coach Jason Kidd, who did it twice, along with Hall of Fame lead guard of the Utah Jazz John Stockton. Former Indiana Pacers’ and Golden State Warriors guard Monta Ellis; former Jazz, New Jersey/Brooklyn Nets, Dallas Mavericks, and Cleveland Cavaliers guard Deron Williams; former Warriors’ and Miami Heat guard Tim Hardaway, Sr., the father of New York Knicks guard, and former Atlanta Hawk Tim Hardaway, Jr., and former Portland Trail Blazers guard Terry Porter also accomplished this. 

Paul had 18 of his 20 points in the second half, along with nine boards, six assists, and three steals. 

“James has been carrying us all season long. It was nice to give him a little help tonight,” Paul said after the game. 

The team was led on this night by center Clint Capela with a career-high 28 points, on 13 for 14 from the field, with eight boards, and five block shots. Gordon had 27 points off the bench, going 9 for 12 from the field, including 5 for 6 from three-point range.

“Clint was amazing man as good as [DeMarcus] Cousins is, when he was down here, he’s expending a lot of energy. So, we just wanted to run him. Put him in pick-and-rolls,” Paul said of Capela’s performance against one of the best big men in the game. “Clint definitely MVP of this game.” 

It took a total team effort by the Rockets, who had to overcome big nights from the Pelican guards, where All-Star Jrue Holiday had 37 points, five assists, and four steals, going 16 for 21 from the field, including 4 for 7 from three-point range. E’Twaun Moore had a career-high 36 points, hitting 15 for 20 from the floor, including 6 for 8 from three-point range. All-Star guard Rajon Rondo had a triple-double of 13 points, 12 rebounds, and 12 assists. Fellow All-Star DeMarcus Cousins had a double-double of 24 points, and 14 boards, with eight assists. 

The Pelicans were scoring hot from the field right from the jump, scoring 41 points in the opening period, which was followed by 35 points in the second quarter. The Rockets held a two-point lead, 78-76 at intermission, thanks to a 43-point second quarter. The Pelicans had a 103-96 lead entering the fourth, but the Rockets outscored their visitors 34-20 in the fourth quarter, with Harden scoring 12 straight points in the final frame to rally the Rockets. 

“We met right there before the fourth quarter started, said our little group had a chance to do something special. To pick up the energy right here,” Paul said about the Rockets approach before the fourth after the win. 

“We just tried to make them be more aggressive on defense, because they were just in a rocking chair. Rondo was quarterbacking, making all the plays. They was hitting threes.”

Harden was able to come in, and finish off the Pelicans, thanks to the fact that the supporting cast of the bench led by Gordon out scored the visitors reserves 38-3, and dominated them in the paint to the tune of 58 points to 40. 

The Rockets made an even bigger comeback over the weekend in the Pacific Northwest by pulling out of a 14-point hole at the Portland Trail Blazers (14-13) on Saturday night to earn a 124-117 win, thanks to a 40-point output in the final frame. 

Harden, who had a game-high 48 points that night, and Paul had 26 points, scored a combined 25 points in the fourth, and the Rockets went 15 for 18 from the floor in the final period, with Harden, and Paul going a combined 9 for 10 shooting, including hitting five layups.  

This game also represented the first time that Harden, and Paul had been on the floor together in crunch time this season. The games prior to this one that Paul has played in have been won by the Rockets by double-digits. 

Rockets color analyst for AT&T Sportsnet Southwest Matt Bullard said that with Harden, and Paul on the floor together at the Trail Blazers scored in the first seven clutch possessions of the fourth quarter, and their offensive rating was 228 points per 100 possessions.

"We spent a lot of time together this summer," Paul said to Van Pelt on how he, and Harden built the kind of chemistry on the court that has shown well during the Rockets winning streak.
"I think communication was key, but we still have a ways to go."   

Speaking of getting to the basket, the Rockets who are a team that scores it points from the three-point line, at the rim, and at the foul line, were 34 for 42 from the charity stripe, while the Trail Blazers attempted just 12 free throws, making nine. 

Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts said after the game about the Rockets, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, “They’re the best team in the league right now, and we competed, and came up short…We took out their passing. We took out their threes. And they beat us with good one-on-one play.”

There were times in that game where Harden had the Trail Blazers on their heels, and he could get to the basket anytime he wanted to. 

Even when the opposition has defended the Rockets well on a few occasions during this season, their star backcourt of Harden, and Paul in the final seconds of the shot clock can still beat you with their ability to make shots from long range. 

ESPN NBA writer Kevin Arnovitz said on Monday afternoon’s addition of “NBA: The Jump,” on ESPN with Rachel Nichols said that Harden has an effective field goal percentage of 55.1 on his 51 stepback attempts from three-point range inside the final five seconds of the 24-second shot clock, which is something he worked on diligently over the summer.  

“So, even when you everything correct, their last ditch, break the glass. In case of emergency play is stepback, three-pointer off the dribble, 55.1 percent effective,” he said. 

“It used to be literally the dumbest. Last ditch shot you could make in a game. And now, it is part of strategy.” 

There was a time over the summer when the Rockets acquired Paul from the Los Angeles Clippers, where the question was can Harden, and Paul, two ball dominant players co-exist together? The new question became when Paul returned is can he fit in to a team that was playing at a high level without him?  

He has fit in like a glove, and the signs were very clear in his first game on Nov. 16 at the Phoenix Suns on TNT. 

The Rockets put up 90 points. That’s right 90 points in the opening half at the Suns (9-21) in their 142-116 win. It was the fifth most points in a half all-time in NBA history, right behind the Rockets 94-point half on Jan. 10, 1991. The Philadelphia 76ers put up 95 points in a game back on Dec. 20, 1967. The Atlanta Hawks scored 97 points in a half on Feb. 11, 1970. The most points ever put up in a half was done by the Phoenix Suns on Nov. 10, 1990. 

Harden was incredible with 48 points, on 12 for 22 from the field, including 6 for 11 from distance, and a perfect 18 for 18 from the foul line. Paul had a double-double in his return of 11 points, and 10 assists in 21 minutes. Anderson had 24 points, going 6 for 10 from three-point range. Gordon had 13 off the bench, and backup center Nene had 10 points. Capela had a double-double of 12 points, and 10 boards. Ariza also contributed 11 points. 

To bring the impact Paul has had into clearer context, according to the site Second Spectrum, Anderson is scoring on 79 percent of his three-point attempts when feed by Paul. 

In the first 15 games without their lead guard, whose nickname is “CP3” returned to the lineup, the Rockets were shooting a respectable 34 percent from behind the three-point arc, No. 25 in the NBA, making 15.1 threes. In that period, their assists-to-turnover ratio has been 1.3, and their point differential was a +13.1. They have averaging 110.4 points, on shooting 45.3 percent overall from the floor, while averaging 21.3 assists.  

In the first 10 games of their now 11 game winning streak since Nov. 16 with Paul, the Rockets rose that ranking to No. 2 in the NBA at 41.5 percent from distance, making 17.2 triples. The Rockets have averaged 120.0 points per game; shot 48.7 percent from the field; had a 1.77 assists-to-turnover ratio; a point differential of +17.6 and averaged 24.6 assists.  

In the Rockets 112-101 win at the Utah Jazz (13-15) on Dec. 7 on TNT, the Rockets connected on 10 of 14 threes off a pass from Paul. On triple tries that came off passes from Harden, and the other Rockets, or when they came off no passes, the team was a dismal 8 for 28, according to Second Spectrum. 

The other question that the Rockets have had to answer, especially over the last couple of seasons has been their play at the defensive end. That too has gotten better with Paul, a seven-time member of the NBA All-Defensive First-Team coming back, along with the off-season additions of swingman P.J. Tucker, and Luc Mbah a Moute.  

They are No. 6 in rebound differential in the NBA; No. 3 in steals per game at 9.4 and tied for No. 8 in forced turnovers at 15.2. 

Even with that progress, Paul said to Van Pelt that there is still room for the Rockets to improve, especially the way they start games. 

"We're winning games, and stuff right now, but it's big picture," he said after the win versus the Hornets. "We still have to keep building. We got to get off to better starts, and we got to keep building out defense."

What this 11-game winning streak, and the Rockets rise to the No. 1 Seed in the West this season, for now signals is that Paul, and Harden have made this partnership on the basketball court work, and it helps when you have an offensive genius in Mike D’Antoni leading the way from the sidelines, and the plethora of shooters that can make shots at a high clip. 

Paul though has put in the work to evolve himself into a player that many thought he would struggle to become. A guy who can share the point guard responsibilities with Harden. That he can shoot three-pointers at a consistent rate, shooting a career-high of 41.8 percent, with four games this season of four three-point connections, or more. He has attacked the basket when the opportunity has presented itself to score or find the open man rolling to the hole, on spotting up at the three-point line, and has taken less mid-range jumpers. 

While the Harden, and Paul have answered the question can they put it all together on the court, and the Rockets as a team have demonstrated that they can play the type of defense that can get you far in the playoffs to this point in the 2017-18 NBA campaign, the question is can they put it all together when we reach the middle of April, and the months of May, and June? 

While they have played well, the Golden State Warriors (22-6), who have won seven games in a row are the defending champions, and their interstate, and Southwest Division rivals the San Antonio Spurs (19-9) have five titles to their name, and defeated the Rockets in the Semifinals a season ago in six games. 

The Warriors, and Spurs have been down this road before of positioning themselves to be at their best in the postseason. Also, they both have former MVPs in two-time MVP Stephen Curry of the Warriors, along with last season’s Finals MVP, and 2014 league MVP Kevin Durant, not to mention All-Stars Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green. The Spurs have Kawhi Leonard, and the likes of Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili who played big roles in the Spurs winning five of their six NBA titles.

The Rockets are trying to figure it out, and while they have made positive steps to this point, the team, and Harden, and Paul will be judge on what they do in the spring. Counting their first tilt of the season with the Spurs on Friday night on ESPN, the Rockets will have a combined six more contests with their Conference rivals, and five of those six will be in the New Year. 

From that point on, we all will find out if what the Rockets are a serious threat in the West, or a team that will flame out again when the pressure, and expectations are at there highest. 

Information, quotations, and statistics are courtesy of 12/8/17 3 p.m. edition of “NBA: The Jump,” on ESPN with Rachel Nichols, Amin Elhassan, and Tracy McGrady; 12/11/17 3 p.m. edition of “NBA: The Jump,” on ESPN with Rachel Nichols, and Kevin Arnovitz; 12/11/17 6:30 p.m. edition of NBATV’s “10 Before Tip,” with Jared Greenberg; 12/13/17 6:30 p.m. edition of NBATV’s “10 Before Tip,” with Jared Greenberg; 12/12/17 6:30 a.m. edition of NBATV’s “Gametime,” presented by Kia Motors, with Kristen Ledlow, and Brent Barry; 12/14/17 12 a.m. edition of ESPN’s “Sportscenter with Scott Van Pelt:” 12/14/17 7 p.m. edition of NBATV’s “The Starters,” presented by Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey, with Tas Melas, J.E. Skeets, Leigh Ellis, and Trey Kerby; 12/15/17 3 p.m. edition of "NBA: The Jump," on ESPN, with Rachel Nichols, Ramona Shelburne, and Tracy McGrady; www.nba.com/games; www.espn.com/nba/statistics; www.espn.com/nba/standings;  www.espn.com/nba/team/schedule/_/name/hou/houston-rockets; www.espn.com/nba/player/stats/_/id/2779/chris-paul; and www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/3992/james-harden.