The Mess that is the Houston Rockets

The Mess that is the Houston Rockets

 

The Houston Rockets season finally came to an end on Thursday in way that pretty much summed up their season. A 33 point humiliation at the hands of the Steph Curry less Golden State Warriors showed what this Houston team has been this whole year.

Selfish. Uncompetitive. Broken.

 

For a team that had so much promise after making the Western Conference Finals last season this team has been a constant disappointment. There has been a long list of things that have gone wrong for them this season. Kevin McHale being fired after 11 games, the Ty Lawson trade and subsequent waive, injuries and all round lack of effort just to name a few.

The biggest issue was chemistry the team didn’t even look like they liked playing with each other. James Harden and Dwight Howard were at the forefront of that and it dragged the rest of them team down with them. It now looks like they are going to split up with Dwight Howard being a free agent and after all the promise they had this would now be the appropriate and smart move.

 

One positive out of this failed attempt in the Playoffs is now they will reassess as opposed to just covering up the cracks if they had been successful in the post season. But where too now?

Is James Harden their franchise player? Will the Rockets back him in and build a team around him, while he may not be a defensive player or even a great leader he is one the best players in basketball and the Rockets need to do whatever they can to limit his defensive weaknesses and surround him with complementary pieces so he can excel.
Showing up in shape may also help.

 

Without this year’s draft pick (another fault made in the Lawson trade) the Rockets will need to rebuild in free agency. Daryl Morey is one of the best GM’s out there but he has he work cut out for him this off season. He will look to acquire Kevin Durant but that seems a long shot now after the season that has been. Players like Ryan Anderson, Pau Gasol, Nic Batum and Kent Bazemore may be the type of players the Rockets could get and give Harden the reigns and see what happens.
Perhaps the biggest issue is the coaching situation, they need someone who commands respect and will get Harden and the rest of the group to play defence and to want them to play for each other. It seemed like Bickerstaff lost the team and it showed in these playoffs.

While it’s not all doom and gloom for the Rockets, its crunch time for them now. The Warriors, Spurs, Thunder and Clippers aren’t going anywhere soon. The Blazers and Jazz are continually improving the Rockets can’t afford to slip back into NBA’s no man’s land.

 

The Rockets are a mess, but they have the franchise player and terrific GM to fix it, but it’s going to be a tough road ahead.