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LOS ANGELES - Takeaways from the Rockets' 135-103 win against the Los Angeles Clippers:
The Rockets viewed their final back-to-back of the regular season as a test, a challenge in the final weeks of the season as much as it would be needed to secure their playoff position.
They had handled the Kings at home, but believed a road game in Sacramento, after the Kings had won in San Antonio, would be far tougher. They would blow out the Kings in Sacramento, but believed the Clippers waiting in Los Angeles while the Rockets completed a back-to-back, would be a true test.
When the Rockets blasted the Clippers, too, they did not conclude they were wrong about the team they faced. The Clippers, in particular, had been on a roll. Only the Rockets had a better record since the All-Star break and the Clippers had beaten the Rockets in the first two meetings this season.
Instead, the Rockets believed their back-to-back blowouts had provided the final evidence that they were at the best at the most important time of the regular season.
They might not catch the Nuggets for second in the West. The Nuggets' win in San Antonio kept them a game-and-a-half in front, two in the loss column. They did not separate themselves from the Trail Blazers. Portland's win in Memphis kept them a half-game behind the Rockets with the Blazers holding the head-to-head tie-breaker.
The Blazers and Nuggets play one another twice. If Portland wins both games and wins out, the Blazers would be the second seed.
If Denver wins its two other games while the Blazers win all four games left, the Rockets would be the third seed.
If the Nuggets beat the Blazers twice and wins at least one of its other two games, the Nuggets would be second and the Rockets could win out to finish third.
In a three-way tie at 54 wins, the Rockets would be the second seed.
Of those three teams, only the Rockets need help to get to the second seed. Because they play one another, Portland and Denver can control their own destinies. Nearly all the likely scenarios would mean the Rockets' final regular season game in Oklahoma City would mean something.
That also means the Rockets will value how they are playing more than where they finish in the standings. With that in mind, on Wednesday, they looked more like contenders than any time this season, which was all they could want from the quick road trip.
1. In a comment to ESPN posted on Wednesday, Clippers guard Lou Williams said the Rockets "paid a healthy price for Chris Paul."
There was never any question about that. He did not say they paid too much or they made a poor decision. The Rockets have been pretty good even without Williams, Montrezl Harrell, Patrick Beverley, Sam Dekker and the first-round pick it took to land Paul. (Though it should be added that getting him in a trade, rather than as a free agent, allowed them to make other moves that work into the equation too.)
There is nothing wrong with Williams considering that much talent "a healthy price." He is going to win his second consecutive Sixth Man of the Year award. Harrell could be second. The Clippers are 34-14 when Beverley starts this season.
Paul, however, offered reminders on Wednesday why a team would spend so richly to get him.
Besides that few guards could work as well in the backcourt with James Harden while also providing elite point guard play, the Rockets' chances to win a championship remain about how well their stars rise to those moments when they have to put the Rockets over the top.
It might have helped that Beverley was not available to defend Paul on Wednesday, but when he shoots the way he did against his former team, he can be nearly as unstoppable as the guard to his left. He's not often going to hit 5 of 8 3-pointers, including one from 61-feet, but Paul has been known to lift the Rockets to another level.
The gamble was not whether he would be worth so much talent, but whether he could stay healthy and at his best through the long postseason grind. He was his most spectacular in the game that ended his first season with the Rockets in the Western Conference Finals. He will get another chance to make the trade an investment well spent this season.
But if anyone had forgotten what he can bring, Paul offered a reminder. He might not have seen Williams' comment. Had he seen it, he might not have minded. But it would not be at all unusual for a player with his level of pride to have read it and chosen to use it. Either way, he and the Rockets treated the game with playoff intensity and showed what is possible for a team that paired Paul with Harden.
2. Team employees no longer get awards votes, but if Clippers announcer Don MacLean still did, Harden would not get the MVP nod from him. Harden might not have gotten on his ballot.
MacLean offered during the Rocket' blowout that Harden's style is "almost like cheating" and that it is "not basketball."
That of course is nonsense. As Paul has often said, if others could do it, they would.
Yes, Harden is given unbelievable freedom in the Rockets offense. But as Mike D'Antoni said before Wednesday's game, Harden is also incredibly efficient. Why would he have him give the ball to a teammate that is less efficient? Harden does look for his shot often, though it seemed odd that MacLean made his critique on a night Harden needed 15 shots to score 31 points in a 32-point win.
Harden might win a championship. He might not. That will be determined by how well he and the Rockets play, not by the style. Kobe Bryant put up a few shots in that building. He was known to win championships there. He set a high standard, but that was about how well he played, not whether he often looked for his own shot.
Then again, there was a time when it was said that Michael Jordan could never win a championship because he was not like Magic Johnson. That was nonsense before he had the rings to prove it.
Harden does not have that kind of evidence, but again, that is not about how he plays, but how well. Had Paul not gotten hurt last season, Harden might have already gotten his championship. And he would have not changed his style in any way.
For now, Harden is averaging 36.3 points per game, leading in scoring by more points per game than anyone since Wilt Chamberlain in the 1962-63 season and putting him in the select group to have averaged 35. Of that group, he is doing it on fewer shots, in fewer minutes and averaging more assists than anyone.
There's nothing wrong with someone preferring other styles of play. Crossover dribbles and stepback 3s are not for everyone. But MacLean and anyone else watching is cheating themselves if they pay attention and choose not to appreciate the accomplishment.
3. The Clippers are of course much better than they showed on Wednesday. They rushed to say "it happens," but they were not wrong.
There are times teams don't have the emotions needed to play with the sort of edge the Rockets brought to Staples Center on Wednesday. The respect the Rockets had for the Clippers had a lot to do with that. The Clippers' run since the All-Star break that earned that respect could have emptied the tank a bit.
If the teams meet in the playoffs, however, the Rockets will have to rebuild that healthy fear. They did play well. They defended with energy (though the Clippers' 28 fast-break points would be worth concern if they meet again.) They even hit the boards effectively.
The Rockets also shot extraordinarily well, sinking 47.4 percent of their 3s to blow the game open. The Clippers hold opponents to the worst 3-point shooting in the league. In a playoff series, things might be considerably tougher.
The Clippers would know what they are up against. The question, after the Rockets rolled to a 32-point blowout less than two weeks before the playoffs begin, is will the Rockets?
That was a key to their play on Wednesday and it is much better to have that game in the memory banks than the previous losses. The Rockets like to say they do not concern themselves with their opponent; only with their own play. But when they remember how they won so easily on Wednesday, they would be well-served to also recall what they thought about the challenge before the rout began.
LOS ANGELES - Takeaways from the Rockets' 135-103 win against the Los Angeles Clippers:
The Rockets viewed their final back-to-back of the regular season as a test, a challenge in the final weeks of the season as much as it would be needed to secure their playoff position.
They had handled the Kings at home, but believed a road game in Sacramento, after the Kings had won in San Antonio, would be far tougher. They would blow out the Kings in Sacramento, but believed the Clippers waiting in Los Angeles while the Rockets completed a back-to-back, would be a true test.
When the Rockets blasted the Clippers, too, they did not conclude they were wrong about the team they faced. The Clippers, in particular, had been on a roll. Only the Rockets had a better record since the All-Star break and the Clippers had beaten the Rockets in the first two meetings this season.
Instead, the Rockets believed their back-to-back blowouts had provided the final evidence that they were at the best at the most important time of the regular season.
They might not catch the Nuggets for second in the West. The Nuggets' win in San Antonio kept them a game-and-a-half in front, two in the loss column. They did not separate themselves from the Trail Blazers. Portland's win in Memphis kept them a half-game behind the Rockets with the Blazers holding the head-to-head tie-breaker.
The Blazers and Nuggets play one another twice. If Portland wins both games and wins out, the Blazers would be the second seed.
If Denver wins its two other games while the Blazers win all four games left, the Rockets would be the third seed.
If the Nuggets beat the Blazers twice and wins at least one of its other two games, the Nuggets would be second and the Rockets could win out to finish third.
In a three-way tie at 54 wins, the Rockets would be the second seed.
Of those three teams, only the Rockets need help to get to the second seed. Because they play one another, Portland and Denver can control their own destinies. Nearly all the likely scenarios would mean the Rockets' final regular season game in Oklahoma City would mean something.
That also means the Rockets will value how they are playing more than where they finish in the standings. With that in mind, on Wednesday, they looked more like contenders than any time this season, which was all they could want from the quick road trip.
1. In a comment to ESPN posted on Wednesday, Clippers guard Lou Williams said the Rockets "paid a healthy price for Chris Paul."
There was never any question about that. He did not say they paid too much or they made a poor decision. The Rockets have been pretty good even without Williams, Montrezl Harrell, Patrick Beverley, Sam Dekker and the first-round pick it took to land Paul. (Though it should be added that getting him in a trade, rather than as a free agent, allowed them to make other moves that work into the equation too.)
There is nothing wrong with Williams considering that much talent "a healthy price." He is going to win his second consecutive Sixth Man of the Year award. Harrell could be second. The Clippers are 34-14 when Beverley starts this season.
Paul, however, offered reminders on Wednesday why a team would spend so richly to get him.
Besides that few guards could work as well in the backcourt with James Harden while also providing elite point guard play, the Rockets' chances to win a championship remain about how well their stars rise to those moments when they have to put the Rockets over the top.
It might have helped that Beverley was not available to defend Paul on Wednesday, but when he shoots the way he did against his former team, he can be nearly as unstoppable as the guard to his left. He's not often going to hit 5 of 8 3-pointers, including one from 61-feet, but Paul has been known to lift the Rockets to another level.
The gamble was not whether he would be worth so much talent, but whether he could stay healthy and at his best through the long postseason grind. He was his most spectacular in the game that ended his first season with the Rockets in the Western Conference Finals. He will get another chance to make the trade an investment well spent this season.
But if anyone had forgotten what he can bring, Paul offered a reminder. He might not have seen Williams' comment. Had he seen it, he might not have minded. But it would not be at all unusual for a player with his level of pride to have read it and chosen to use it. Either way, he and the Rockets treated the game with playoff intensity and showed what is possible for a team that paired Paul with Harden.
2. Team employees no longer get awards votes, but if Clippers announcer Don MacLean still did, Harden would not get the MVP nod from him. Harden might not have gotten on his ballot.
MacLean offered during the Rocket' blowout that Harden's style is "almost like cheating" and that it is "not basketball."
That of course is nonsense. As Paul has often said, if others could do it, they would.
Yes, Harden is given unbelievable freedom in the Rockets offense. But as Mike D'Antoni said before Wednesday's game, Harden is also incredibly efficient. Why would he have him give the ball to a teammate that is less efficient? Harden does look for his shot often, though it seemed odd that MacLean made his critique on a night Harden needed 15 shots to score 31 points in a 32-point win.
Harden might win a championship. He might not. That will be determined by how well he and the Rockets play, not by the style. Kobe Bryant put up a few shots in that building. He was known to win championships there. He set a high standard, but that was about how well he played, not whether he often looked for his own shot.
Then again, there was a time when it was said that Michael Jordan could never win a championship because he was not like Magic Johnson. That was nonsense before he had the rings to prove it.
Harden does not have that kind of evidence, but again, that is not about how he plays, but how well. Had Paul not gotten hurt last season, Harden might have already gotten his championship. And he would have not changed his style in any way.
For now, Harden is averaging 36.3 points per game, leading in scoring by more points per game than anyone since Wilt Chamberlain in the 1962-63 season and putting him in the select group to have averaged 35. Of that group, he is doing it on fewer shots, in fewer minutes and averaging more assists than anyone.
There's nothing wrong with someone preferring other styles of play. Crossover dribbles and stepback 3s are not for everyone. But MacLean and anyone else watching is cheating themselves if they pay attention and choose not to appreciate the accomplishment.
3. The Clippers are of course much better than they showed on Wednesday. They rushed to say "it happens," but they were not wrong.
There are times teams don't have the emotions needed to play with the sort of edge the Rockets brought to Staples Center on Wednesday. The respect the Rockets had for the Clippers had a lot to do with that. The Clippers' run since the All-Star break that earned that respect could have emptied the tank a bit.
If the teams meet in the playoffs, however, the Rockets will have to rebuild that healthy fear. They did play well. They defended with energy (though the Clippers' 28 fast-break points would be worth concern if they meet again.) They even hit the boards effectively.
The Rockets also shot extraordinarily well, sinking 47.4 percent of their 3s to blow the game open. The Clippers hold opponents to the worst 3-point shooting in the league. In a playoff series, things might be considerably tougher.
The Clippers would know what they are up against. The question, after the Rockets rolled to a 32-point blowout less than two weeks before the playoffs begin, is will the Rockets?
That was a key to their play on Wednesday and it is much better to have that game in the memory banks than the previous losses. The Rockets like to say they do not concern themselves with their opponent; only with their own play. But when they remember how they won so easily on Wednesday, they would be well-served to also recall what they thought about the challenge before the rout began.
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