The Houston Rockets were slumping going into this game against a permanently slumping Charlotte Hornets team. As it turned out, they were still slumping going into the second half of the game until James Harden led the way to a late blowout victory. The Hornets put up a valiant struggle despite missing Al Jefferson, and the Rockets let Charlotte hang around way too long, but in the end, the team with the best player pulled away and got a win to celebrate on new year’s eve.
The recent story, of course, is the question of Josh Smith. Is he a worthwhile addition? Did he turn the ball over in spectacular fashion? Is he shooting too much? It’s too early to say whether or not he’s a good get, but the rest of the questions are all yes. He shot seven times, hit two of them, and probably should have passed instead of taking most of them. He also managed to fumble the ball improbably, something which may become all to familiar. On the plus side, he hit a three and racked up some serious peripheral stats in 28 minutes. 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 3 blocks is a fine line apart from his questionable shooting, and it’s still very possible he learns to exist in the offense.
That being said, his presence has changed the offensive flow of the starting lineup, and the team is clearly still adjusting. The Rockets shot below 40% on the evening, and that was after a relatively hot second half. The offense has been iffy all year, and isn’t helped by trying to integrate new talent. The team may end up stronger in April because of it, but for now the roster moves have made things unpredictable in Houston. The only predictable aspect is the consistent brilliance of James Harden.
Here in the James Harden love paragraph, we will love James Harden. Despite starting slow, he ended with 36 points on a mere 19 shots, even though he only shot 4 free throws. That’s because he hit 8 three pointers on 11 tries, mostly in a red-hot second half. 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, a block and only 1 turnover in 33 minutes. This is the goal. This kind of line in these kind of minutes is what Houston wants to see every night from their (very credible) MVP candidate. The Hornets may have regressed significantly on defense since last season, but this performance still counts, and it still adds one more stop on the route to glory Harden’s paving. Love him while he’s young and driven and in Houston, because this kind of player is rare indeed.
How was Dwight, you might ask. He was fine. He shot 5-5 and scored 11 points. He grabbed 8 rebounds and missed his usual double double, in large part due to foul trouble. He only played 29 minutes, a good habit to get into, even if the reason wasn’t great. Howard has settled in nicely and doesn’t whiff on games very badly. His defense remains top-notch, and there’s increasing depth to take up the slack.
The rest of the team had more shots then points, something the Rockets absolutely need to work on for the rest of the season. They were able to bury the Hornets nonetheless, even though the effort took until halftime to arrive. On a day when the Rockets badly needed a win to keep morale up, Houston can now toast the success of the Rockets on new year’s eve.
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