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By: Forrest Walker
James Harden is, at worst, the third place candidate for NBA MVP. With a few more games like the night he had against the Portland Trail Blazers, Harden might just force his way to the top of the list. Harden came out like a flamethrower against the Blazers, ripping off 31 points and 5 steals... by halftime. He looked like a man possessed, and he led the charge against a shorthanded Portland team that just didn't have the firepower to stop a riled up Rockets team. New players played well, old players threw down, and Jason Terry got his 2000th three pointer. The Rockets are winning with style again, and the crowd is finally getting riled up. The MVP chants are a regular sound in Houston, at long last.
The biggest asterisk is named LaMarcus Aldridge, and he missed the game with an illness. The next asterisk is Robin Lopez, who missed one of the many games he's set to miss due to a broken hand. Meyers Leonard and Joel Freeland started in their steads, a pairing which wasn't up to the task of containing Howard and Harden. Leonard rained threes on the Rockets, pushing the Blazers to an early 12-4 lead, but Harden led the Rockets to a brutal response, and the Rockets beat the Blazers 69-41 for the rest of the first half. It was exciting, it was a promise of things to come, and it was an end to the longest losing streak (of two) the Rockets had all season.
44 points, 3 rebounds, 7 assists, 5 steals, 1 turnover. Harden did all this on only 26 shots(and 13 free throws) in a mere 32 minutes. In fact, Harden had 31 points in less than eighteen and a half minutes, for anyone who wants to compare him to another Western Conference superstar who may or may not have achieved a similar feat recently. Harden was playing on both sides of the ball, throwing down highlight plays, hitting circus shots and mugging for the cameras. If you already liked him, this game only grew his appeal. He looked fresh and lethal throughout the game, and the offense came together in a way it hasn't all season. The Blazers sport a top-3 defensive efficiency so far, so their porous defense speaks to Houston's improvement on offense, to the importance of Aldridge and Lopez, and to the supernova powers of James Harden.
Corey Brewer, new inductee in the Houston Headband Club, made his Rockets debut and blew everybody away. Despite a 29% career three point percentage (and a reputation as a three point shooter born more of enthusiasm than skill), he came off the bench for 24 minutes, hit 2-4 threes, scored 12 points, racked up 5 steals and most importantly game Harden and Ariza time to rest. Brewer is a cagey veteran who knows how to disrupt opposing offenses, and his risky play paid dividends with a solid defense behind him. He may not always end up with such a good line, and the three point shooting is liable to regress, but you couldn't ask for a better first impression. So far, so good.
The other new guy, Alexey Shved? He played 11 minutes, hit a three, and missed three other shots. Welcome to the team, Alexey.
The starters were all solid, especially Harden and Howard. Howard continues to thrive as the second option, and his post up attempts have been more limited and less unsightly. Instead, he's going up for dunks, including a brutal one-handed flush off an alley-oop. Howard racked up 16 and 13, good for yet another double double. He might not be producing at his peak Orlando rate, but he doesn't have to in Houston, especially when he only plays 33 minutes in a game. This sort of minutes load was lighter than usual due to garbage time, but blowing teams out is part of how players get rest. Dwight especially is going to need a lighter minutes load, and a game like this was a huge step in the right direction.
Donatas Motiejunas and Patrick Beverley both looked fine, ending up with oddly similar lines. Dmo went for 10 points on 9 shots with 8 rebounds and an assist while Beverley had 11 points on 9 shots, 5 rebounds and an assist (and two steals a block). Donatas went 1-3 on threes, a sort of vaguely acceptable number, while Beverley continued to stroke it at a 50% clip, hitting half of his sic three point attempts. Both played intense defense, and continue to be a large part of why this Rockets team have a top two defensive efficiency.
Small Forwards not named Brewer had a tough time tonight, with Trevor Ariza and Kostas Papanikolaou combining for 7 points, all of which came from Ariza. Ariza was 1-6 from deep, while Kostas shot an oh-fer. Ariza at least grabbed six boards and played excellent defense, while Papanikolaou seemed to be having trouble finding his role now. The roster and rotation both changed while Papa was out with an injury, and he hasn't been the same since. Still, as long as he can contribute at all, he'll be a meaningful addition to the team.
Jason Terry didn't have a huge impact on the game, with his minutes dialed back to 14, but he did score 5 points, including a ludicrously deep three that made him the third NBA player in history to accumulate 2000 threes. Joey Dorsey, Tarik Black, Isaiah Canaan and Nick Johnson also played. Dorsey distinguished himself from that group by scoring the only two points out of the lot of them.
On a night when the Rockets couldn't afford to lose a third game in a row, James Harden led the team to a decisive win over an admittedly short-handed team. The Blazers and Damian Lillard remain lethal, however, and a win counts just as much, no matter who was hurt during that stretch. If Harden and Howard can keep rolling like this, this Rockets team might just be the best squad from Houston in a couple decades, which just might get them home court in the first round. And nobody in the NBA is going harder for an MVP trophy than James Harden right now.
