James Harden is playing out of his mind. He’s forcing his way into the MVP race and even more importantly he’s forcing Rockets wins down teams’ throats while everyone is injured out. The Houston Rockets rolled into Milwaukee on the second night of a back to back, missing a superstar center, two more starters, and the only remaining point guard on the roster. This was a game the Rockets didn’t have much business winning, but they won it anyway, and they won it comfortably. The team rallied well, and the team came together, but the most impressive part was that James Harden was the leader in more ways than one.
Our hero’s line was great, especially considering that it came against Giannis Antetokounmpo (who has a lot of defensive potential if not actual defense yet) and the 5th best defensive efficiency in the league. 34 points. 9-14 shooting. 6 rebounds. 8 assists. 4 steals. 1 block… and, sure, 5 turnovers. Harden was responsible for running the offense all night, and it showed. He ran right into the teeth of the defense, he drew fouls, he created opportunities and, yes, he occasionally threw the ball away. The rest of the time, he was taking risks and making plays despite his heavy minute load two games in a row. James Harden is an MVP candidate, and there’s no denying it.
The Rockets got boosts from some surprising places tonight, like Lithuania, Greece and an airfield somewhere. Donatas Motiejunas, Kostas Papanikolaou and Jason Terry all came up big on a night when the Rockets desperately needed someone to shoulder some of the load. Motiejunas in particular looked great on both sides of the ball, something Houston has been trying to foster for years. It has yet to be seen if he can build on this 20 point, 9-13 outing, but the opposition doesn’t lessen the achievement at all. In fact, the Bucks are a solid defensive team with athletic, shot-blocking bigs, making D-Mo’s crafty post moves all the more impressive. The biggest injury silver lining of all would be if Terrence Jones’ absence gave Motiejunas the time and experience he needs to put it together. It’s only been a few good games, so it’s too early to get excited, but it’s certainly never a bad sign when a player has good performances.
Papanikolaou played 29 minutes and didn’t make Rockets head coach Kevin McHale regret it. He shot a just-right 5-6 from the field, including 2-2 from deep. His 4 assists also fit right into the role they’re trying to establish for him as a passing forward who can hit from all over. His chemistry with Motiejunas was particularly good, and the two repeatedly passed to each other on sneaky and effective cuts. He’s got a long way to go, but he’s already ahead of schedule for a rookie signing under the radar.
Jason Terry had his best game as a Rocket, hitting 4 of 8 threes and scoring 18 points. He’s not integral to Houston’s long-term plan, but he’s been very useful in times of injury. He’s not a point guard, but at least he’s a guard, and he can bring the ball up without trouble. All he needs to do is help the team tread water when Harden has to sit, and he was able to do that well enough against a Bucks team that’s not exactly scary in the backcourt.
The rest of the team wasn’t very notable. Garcia couldn’t hit anything and went 1-7 on the night, hitting his only non-three. Trevor Ariza scored a respectable 14 points but took 18 shots to get there, the opposite of Houston’s efficiency approach. His 10 rebounds were immensely helpful, though, especially since Tarik Black was only able to corral 5 of them. As the impromptu starting center, Black has performed better than one might expect from an undrafted rookie, even with a mediocre rebounding night. His 4-6 shooting came on putbacks and dunks, which isn’t an exciting number, but was exactly what he needed to do.
The team is responding well to adversity, something which won’t last forever. The best case scenario is for players to start coming back as the post-injury bounce wears off, and for the Rockets to claw onto home court in the first round. In the meantime, Harden continues to show how much better he is this season, something which scarcely seemed possible in the summer. A few more heroic outings like tonight, and he may be eurostepping his way to the MVP awards ceremony.
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