James Harden needs to play like a superstar. Kevin C. Cox
Houston finds itself once again in a must win situation after being completely dismantled Sunday night at Golden State. The Rockets will need to correct several issues before tonight's game if they are to stand any chance against the Warriors. If they play the same way as Game 3, expect the same result. Here are five things that need to happen to pull this series even:
1) Control the ball
In both losses the Rockets have more than doubled the Warriors in turnovers. In their win, the teams were practically even. Turnovers lead to easy fast break points, and the Warriors, not surprisingly, crushed Houston in that category 23-10 as a result. The Rockets look nervous, and seem like they're trying to play outside of the game the have used to win 65 times during the season. You can't score without the ball, and the Rockets need to take much better care of it or they'll be run out of the building again.
2) Dial in on layups
In both losses the Rockets missed wide open layups time and time again. The only way Houston's offense works is if their isolation plays free up someone capable of making the open layup. Otherwise you end up with an easy fast break for the Warriors, who converted theirs as never more clearly indicated by the scoreboard.
3) Hurry up
The Rockets are fully capable of running the court and upping the pace. That's what they did in Game 2, and it yielded great results. Games 1 and 3 were much slower on the offensive end, leading to way too many last second low percentage shots as the shot clock expired. Pick up the pace, continue to isolate Stephen Curry, and we should see a version of the Rockets we've been used to seeing all season.
4) Step up
Chris Paul and James Harden need help and their teammates have been woefully absent in answering the call. It's clear that Luc Mbah A Moute is still affected by his shoulder injury, as his offense has been nonexistent. That leaves Trevor Ariza, PJ Tucker, Gerald Green, and Eric Gordon. With the exception of Game 2, their collective production has been uninspiring. Someone needs to step up if the Rockets are going to have a chance because not only does it stretch the defense for easier layups, it also opens up the potential for lob passes to Capela as a result. The most likely candidate to step up would be Gordon, and he will need to to give the Rockets a shot.
5) Be the MVP
James Harden is playing good basketball, don't get me wrong. But in both Golden State wins, we watched as one of their stars simply willed the team to victory. This is Harden's moment. He has a perceived history of shrinking in the playoffs, but now he has the opportunity with the best team ever assembled around him to erase all of his past playoff woes and show just why he deserves to be the MVP this season. Harden is capable of that extra gear, and we've seen it here and there in these playoffs. The Rockets will need Harden to maintain that MVP level throughout the series in order to remain competitive.
Things don't look great for Houston at the moment, but they're not as bleak as you would think. It is absolutely imperative that the Rockets even up the series in order to regain home court advantage, and we saw in Game 2 what the blueprint was. Game 3 they lost it. Game 4 they'll need to find it again or else the offseason will be here much quicker than Houston fans would prefer.
Most Popular
SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome
Listen Live
If the Astros were going to win one series and lose the other on their six-game road trip out of the All-Star break, they got it right in taking two out of three games at Seattle then losing two out of three to lousy Oakland. Had they inverted those results, the Astros would not be alone atop the American League West starting this weekend’s series against the Dodgers at Minute Maid Park.
By the schedule the Astros’ sledding now gets tougher. The Dodgers are rolling toward their 11th National League West crown in 12 years, despite their pitching staff having been battered by injuries every bit as much as the Astros’. The Astros will face three rookie starters this weekend. National League Rookie of the Year candidate (non-Paul Skenes division) Gavin Stone goes Friday. Saturday it’s Justin Wrobleski making his fourth big league start, Sunday River Ryan makes his second. 325 million dollar addition Yoshinobu Yamamoto last pitched June 15. Tony Gonsolin is out for the year without throwing a pitch. Clayton Kershaw’s first pitch Thursday marks the first of his season. Tyler Glasnow’s Wednesday return from the Injured List means the Astros won’t face him this weekend.
Aside: Astros’ fan favorite Joe Kelly is back in the Dodgers’ bullpen. He was activated from the IL out of the break, so the opportunity to welcome him back to Minute Maid Park looms!
After the Dodgers, the Pirates hit town with Skenes slated to pitch Monday opposite Jake Bloss. Gulp. Hey, in one game, you never know. Skenes has been the most electric rookie pitcher since Dwight Gooden with the Mets in 1984.
Sleepless in Seattle
The Mariners’ unraveling has reached historic proportions. It’s not easy losing six straight matchups with the lowly Angels but the Mariners were down to the challenge and pulled it off. The M’s have stumble-bummed their way to a 9-20 record over their last 29 games. That’s actually a better winning percentage than the Astros’ had after staggering from the starting gate to a 7-19 mark. Like the Astros did, the Mariners can right their ship, though if they don’t add quality offense before Tuesday’s trade deadline it seems unlikely. Seattle has scored more than two runs in one of its last eight games, the only win among those eight when the Mariners got to Ronel Blanco and Seth Martinez Sunday to avoid an Astros’ sweep. Meanwhile, the Texas Rangers whipping up on the laughingstock Chicago White Sox this week has their World Series title defense very much alive and a threat to overtake both the Astros and Mariners.
The trade deadline is this Tuesday
Tick-tock toward Tuesday’s 5PM Central Time trade deadline. General Manager Dana Brown is on the clock. Let’s start with starting pitchers. Tarik Skubal! Garrett Crochet! Jack Flaherty! Any would be a fabulous addition. If Brown acquires one, he will have done phenomenal work cajoling the trade partner into thinking the Astros’ offer the best. Frankly it seems impossible. The Orioles are in the starting pitcher market. Their farm system runs laps around what the Astros have. Numerous other teams on the hunt for pitching have higher rated minor league talent. The Triple-A Sugar Land Space Cowboys are having a fabulous season, but until the Astros Thursday moved up soon to be 24-year-old Jacob Melton (who was batting just .248 with a .307 on-base percentage at Double-A Corpus Christi) there was not one non-pitcher of any consequence younger than 25 on the roster. Pedro Leon, Shay Whitcomb, Will Wagner, and include Joey Loperfido: it would be shocking if any of them can be the best player in an offer good enough to land one of the potential big trade fish. All four of them wouldn’t be enough to land a Skubal or Crochet.
On the hitter side, if the Blue Jays shop Vlad Jr. and/or the Rays take offers for Paredes, of course Brown better try. Either would be a sharp upgrade over Jon Singleton, and Guerrero can’t become a free agent until after next season, with Paredes under team control through 2027. Reality check time. Seattle’s offense is in dire straits. The Mariners have four prospects rated higher than any Astros’ prospect. If the Mariners didn’t make a winning offer over what the Astros proposed, Seattle GM Jerry Dipoto would look like a timid clown.
That said, there will be several second and third tier starters and relievers moved who would boost the Astros. If Spencer Arrighetti and Jake Bloss are both still in the Astros’ starting rotation after the deadline, Dana Brown will have failed. That said, the Astros could well stand pat and win the Mild, Mild West. They could also finish third.
Go for the gold!
With the Olympics underway, a medal podium-style ranking of the Astros’ greatest trade deadline acquisitions:
No medal but cannot be omitted: Randy Johnson. It was a brief fling with “The Big Unit” in 1998 but it was spectacular. It elevated Houston as a baseball city. In 11 regular season starts Johnson went 10-1 with a 1.28 earned run average. He threw shutouts in his first four Astrodome starts. He spiked attendance like no other player in franchise history. Even though the San Diego Padres beat Johnson twice (Johnson pitched fine, the Astros scored two runs total in the two games) and bounced the Astros in a National League Division Series, and prospects Freddy Garcia and Carlos Guillen included in the deal both went on to have excellent careers, it was a trade that in hindsight you make 100 times out of 100.
Bronze: Jeff Bagwell. Reliever Larry Andersen was outstanding in helping the Boston Red Sox win the AL East in 1990, but the BoSox got swept in the ALCS and Andersen left as a free agent. Bagwell has the greatest offensive resume in Astros’ history (I know, I know, postseason aside) and is quite arguably one of the 10 greatest first basemen of all-time.
Silver: Yordan Alvarez. He has longevity to prove but to this point in his career, while not the all-around player Bagwell was, Yordan is clearly the more destructive force in the batter’s box. Throw in his three monstrously significant home runs in the 2022 Astros’ title run, and his awesome 2023 postseason, and what could still lie ahead for him and the Gold could be his if we revisit this topic 10 years from now. Imagine the Dodgers if they hadn’t gifted Yordan to the Astros for Josh Fields.
Gold: Justin Verlander. Astros’ World Series championships pre-JV, zero. With him, two. Even though his World Series resume is terrible. The finishing piece to the Astros’ initial championship winner in 2017 with a 1.06 ERA in five starts ahead of winning the 2017 ALCS MVP, a second crown in 2022, two Cy Young Awards and a Cy runner-up. Interesting decision to make for the cap on his Hall of Fame plaque. Much more body of work with the Tigers but the championships and legend cemented with the Astros.
*Catch our weekly Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast. Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and I discuss varied Astros topics. The first post for the week generally goes up Monday afternoon (second part released Tuesday) via The SportsMap HOU YouTube channel or listen to episodes in their entirety at Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.