SALT LAKE CITY — Takeaways from the Rockets' 126-117 win against the Utah Jazz on Monday night:
The Rockets refused to assume they were beaten before the opening tip, which might have been the first — and most important — victory of the night.
They could have conceded to expectations, playing a back-to-back without James Harden, Clint Capela and Russell Westbrook, on the Jazz's home floor, with the Jazz off Sunday after their impressive win against the Mavericks to move to 29-2 in their previous 21 games.
It took many things to fall in place, from the sensational scoring of Eric Gordon in his career night to the awful shooting of the Jazz in the first half. But the Rockets never looked as if they thought they would give in to being severely shorthanded and extremely short.
There are still concerns. Harden has to find his shot while coming back from an injury. Capela’s heel issue has become increasingly stubborn and troublesome with potential to limit him through the All-Star break. But the Rockets are three games into a tough road trip. They split the back-to-back without Harden in either game. They take a feel-good win with them to Portland.
Things look very different than if they assumed a defeat and moved on, even if few would have disagreed.
1. Gordon probably won’t be the next Rockets guard to take home the MVP, even if he was the latest to put up 50. He probably won’t even start on Wednesday. The Rockets can live with that. They got something valuable to take from the game of his life.
Gordon’s Clutch 50 offered a reminder of how important he can be, even when Harden and Westbrook are back. Assuming Harden returns to good health after missing two games with a thigh bruise and regains his shooting touch after nine in a slump, the Rockets have a chance to have what they imagined all along — a big three of prolific scoring guards.
They have not had that all season. Gordon started poorly and then was hurt. Harden dominated when Westbrook was still finding his way. Westbrook took off when Harden suddenly misfired.
Yet, in a stretch not far removed from the four-game losing streak, the Rockets might have reason to feel better about what they can be than they did when they were clicking and moved to within a half-game of second in the West.
Back then, Gordon was still working his way back to full strength after knee surgery and Westbrook had yet to take off. Now, all three of the Rockets’ top three scorers have at one time or another been sensational.
The Rockets believe they can compete with anyone if two of the three are on their game. They believe they should beat anyone if all three are at their best. That could happen. They don’t get in each other’s way. Instead, Gordon’s range shooting provides spacing that benefits Harden and especially Westbrook greatly.
Gordon probably won’t be putting up 50 when the former MVPs are playing. But in his past four games, Gordon has averaged 30.3 points on 53 percent shooting, 47.6 percent 3-point shooting. As much as that might be greatly improved by Monday’s scoring spree, it is enough to show that he is back in shape enough to be his best.
If nothing else, he demonstrated that he is back, averaging 16.3 points, roughly matching the 16.6 he had averaged in his career and in his four seasons with the Rockets prior to Monday.
As much as the Rockets needed him to go Clutch 50 on the Jazz on Monday, they knew they will need a version of that to achieve anything down the line. Now, more than ever this season, they can believe they will get it.
2. If the Rockets don’t go small, they don’t beat the Jazz on Monday.
This is not a knock on Isaiah Hartenstein. His six minutes were not his best, though he played with a Vipers-heavy lineup which handicapped that stretch. But he could have had one of his Timberwolves games, or at least as much of one as he could get without Westbrook or Harden to partner with in pick-and-roll, and even that would not have been what the Remaining Rockets needed.
They needed to go small. They needed to spread the floor and use all that spacing to attack off the dribble. They needed to switch everything to bog down the Jazz offense just enough to force 18 turnovers, leading to 26 points.
They needed a game plan that would allow Gordon and Austin Rivers, their fill-in starting backcourt, to combine for 71 points, nine more than Westbrook and Harden combine to average.
The Rockets might not have expected that strategy to lead to a 50-point explosion from Gordon. His career high of 41 was 11 years ago. The most he had scored with the Rockets was 36. But they came up with a game plan that allowed them to be their best with the players they had left.
That allowed the Rockets to drive so relentlessly, they spent the night at the free throw line. The 49 free throws the Rockets attempted are the most in the NBA this season.
They had just 14 assists. Gordon took just 22 shots. But when a team scored 35 points at the line, even while missing 14 free throws, something is working.
The mini Rockets took nearly as many shots in the paint as the Jazz (38 to 35), even with the defense breaking down in the fourth quarter when the Jazz scored 42 points to stay in the game. They did not have to be tall to get in there. And when they did, they drew the defense to set up 3s, or drew fouls – two of their favorite things no matter who is playing.
The style won’t work all the time, Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said. The Rockets, however, will use it often. And it should be especially well-suited for Westbrook, given his ability to get to the rim on one end and hit the boards on the other.
It was the right strategy on Monday. It would seem going small against the towering Rudy Gobert might have been a difficult call, but D’Antoni spoke as if it were the obvious choice, players loved it and most of all, it worked.
3. When things were going badly, the losing streak at four games with losses in five of six, the Rockets called themselves out for a lack of competitive spirit. That problem seems to have been solved.
If not solved, as much as they enjoyed a stunning win, in that regard it is something they can build on.
The Rockets have won three of four games since the losing streak, fading down the stretch in Denver. But even then, they played with a spirit that under brutal circumstances was impressive. With Harden, Westbrook and Capela out against the Jazz, the NBA’s hottest team on perhaps the toughest home court and in a back-to-back, the Rockets that were left refused to concede anything.
This was not a case of them looking up and finding themselves in a game and then taking advantage of the opportunity. They were this way from the opening tip.
Actually, they did not compete on the initial jump ball. They gave that to the Jazz to take a 24-second violation to be followed by a Rockets’ eight-second violation, both in tribute to Kobe Bryant.
But had Danuel House Jr. tried to win the tip against Gobert, he would have thought he could.
That defiant confidence was necessary on Monday. In many ways it had been lacking. The Rockets will have to show that when they are back at full strength, or as close as they are going to get.
They still have to improve their transition defense, though it was better Monday. They need to more often control the defensive boards, though they allowed just nine second-chance points. They have to get Harden going again at his standards.
They did show the rewards that are in reach when competing as hard as they did Monday. The Jazz likely let down when they saw what was left of the Rockets’ rotation. The Jazz unquestionably shot terribly in the first half. But the Jazz are for real. They were a popular offseason choice to be among the Western Conference contenders. They have shown why in the past month.
The Rockets demonstrated what they can do and might have even reminded themselves of how they have to play to be their best.
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January 28, 2020 at 05:16AM
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