ROCKET SCIENCE
Some important things to consider with the Rockets returning to action
Jul 13, 2020, 11:19 am
Composite image by Jack Brame.
As the shortened season gets closer, more questions need to be answered. How will Russell Westbrook and James Harden overcome their postseason doubts? What type of defensive structure does Luc Mbah a Moute bring back to the Rockets?
In the last three years, Westbrook has struggled to get past the first round. His first season without Kevin Durant in Oklahoma City was understandable. Westbrook went against a similar built team in the 2017 postseason, the Houston Rockets. In his MVP season, Westbrook and the Thunder were booted out of the playoffs in five games. Later that offseason, Westbrook recruited Carmelo Anthony and Paul George to OKC. This tandem struggled against the Utah Jazz in the 2018 playoffs. As again, Westbrook was out the first round.
That caused Anthony to get traded to Atlanta after the season was over. When George decided to stay in OKC for another season, things looked different for the Thunder. They were able to grab decent seeding but had to face the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round. People predicted Westbrook and George would overcome this Blazers team. But Damian Lillard said different in game six as he hit a buzzer beater to send the Thunder home in the first round.
This year's Rockets team averaged 118.1 points per game before the season was cut short because of COVID-19, Westbrook was averaging 27.5 points per game. Westbrook was on a tear before the season ended but will things be different for him in the playoffs?
Harden has heard all the criticism from previous playoffs series dating back to OKC. His biggest downfall in the playoffs was against the Golden State Warriors. Harden has lost to the Warriors four times. His last two playoff appearances against the Warriors were tough losses. In the 2018 playoffs, Chris Paul reinjured his hamstring in game five, but the Rockets went up 3-2 in the series. Harden and the Rockets missed 22 straight from behind the arc in game seven causing them to lose. The following year, the Rockets lost again to Warriors in six games. This time, without Kevin Durant because he got hurt in game five. Harden was just not able to get along with Paul in the most important series.
Before this season started, the last time Westbrook and Harden played together, was the 2011-2012 season. As that Thunder team blew through teams in the playoffs, and made it to the 2012 NBA finals. Harden and Westbrook both struggled in the finals. Westbrook averaged 27 points per game, while Harden averaged 12.4 points per game. While Harden struggled with turnovers, Westbrook struggled with shooting making only 3 shots from behind the arc on 22 attempts. As result, the Miami Heat beat the Thunder in five games.
How can things be different for Harden? Honestly, Westbrook gives Harden a slight push to become even better. Westbrook and Harden started off slow playing together in the beginning of the season. But towards the shutdown, Westbrook started to build chemistry with Harden. The Rockets went 9-2 in the month of February. Both players shared the ball amazingly well. Harden and Westbrook combined for five 40-point games in the month. Hopefully, we see this level of play in the playoffs.
During the press conference Saturday, Coach Mike D'Antoni expressed his optimism about Harden and Westbrook playing together. D'Antoni feels excited because they proved it by beating the tougher teams in the league.
"Defensively we've been good, offensively we're the second-best in the league this year," D'Antoni said. "We demonstrated that against the best teams in the league, which obliviously they're all here, we played really well. We are not going to take a backseat to anybody. We think we can win it."
Now that the Rockets re-signed Luc Mbah a Moute, this brings strong presence back on defense. The reason for bringing his back is that Thabo Sefolosha did not feel comfortable being in Orlando. Ever since the 2017-2018 season, the Rockets defense has not been the same. Trevor Ariza was on the Rockets as well that year, but bringing back Luc from that team, was huge. The Rockets will likely have to guard multiple players from the Los Angeles Lakers or Clippers in the playoffs this year. The Rockets are currently ranked 9th in defensive this season. It could change now that Luc is back.
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With the Astros now officially ten games under .500 for the season, manager Joe Espada is taking a lot of heat from the fanbase for the team's struggles.
While we don't agree with the sentiment, we even hear fans clamoring for the return of Dusty Baker and Martin Maldonado, thinking the Astros wouldn't be in this mess if they were still here.
Which is ridiculous. First of all, Maldonado has been awful for the White Sox, hitting .048 (even worse than Jose Abreu's .065). And for those of you that think his work with the pitching staff justifies his pathetic offense. Let me say this: Where was Maldy's game calling genius for Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier, and Framber Valdez last year? All of them regressed significantly.
And as far as Baker is concerned, we have no idea how much a difference he would make, we can only speculate. Baker would also be dealing with a pitching staff ravaged with injuries. And let's not forget, Baker was the guy that refused to move Jose Abreu down in the batting order, even though he would finish the regular season with the ninth-worst OPS in baseball.
The reality of the situation is managers can only do so much in baseball. Which leads us to something else that needs to be considered. Is Espada being handcuffed by the front office? Espada and GM Dana Brown both said recently that Jon Singleton was going to get more at-bats while they give Abreu time off to try to figure things out. Yet, there Abreu was in the lineup again in the opening game of the Cubs series.
It makes us wonder how much power does Espada truly have? The Astros have some other options at first base. Yainer Diaz may only have eight games played at the position, but how much worse could he be than Abreu defensively? Abreu already has four errors, and Diaz is obviously a way better hitter. Victor Caratini isn't considered a plus offensive player, but his .276 batting average makes him look like Babe Ruth compared to Abreu. Let him catch more often and play Diaz at first. Starting Diaz at first more often could also lengthen his career long-term.
Maybe that's too wild of a move. Okay, fine. How about playing Mauricio Dubon at first base? I understand he doesn't have much experience at that position, but what's the downside of trying him there? If he can play shortstop, he can play first base. He's driving in runs at a higher rate (11 RBIs) than everyone on the team outside of Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez. And he's producing like that as part-time player right now.
The other criticism we see of Espada is his use of Jon Singleton to pinch hit late in games. Let's be real, though, who else does Espada have on the roster to go to? Batting Abreu late in games in which you're trailing should be considered malpractice. Espada can only use who he has to work with. This all really stems from the Astros poor farm system.
They don't have anyone else to turn to. The draft picks the club lost from the sign-stealing scandal are really hurting them right now. First and second rounders from 2020 and 2021 should be helping you in 2024 at the big league level.
Maybe they go to Astros prospect Joey Loperfido soon, but after a hot start he has only two hits in his last six games.
Finally, we have to talk about what seems like a committee making baseball decisions. Lost in a committee is accountability. Who gets the blame for making poor decisions?
As time continues to pass it looks like moving on from former GM James Click was a massive mistake. He's the guy that didn't sign Abreu, but did trade Myles Straw (recently DFA'd) for Yainer Diaz and Phil Maton. He also built an elite bullpen without breaking the bank, and helped the club win a World Series in 2022.
The reality of the situation is Dusty Baker and James Click are not walking back through that door. And all good runs come to an end at some point. Is this what we're witnessing?
Don't miss the video above as we hit on all the points discussed and much more!
Catch Stone Cold 'Stros (an Astros podcast) with Charlie Pallilo, Brandon Strange, and Josh Jordan. We drop two episodes every week on SportsMapHouston's YouTube channel. You can also listen on Apple Podcast, Spotifyor wherever you get your podcasts.