In playoff breakout, Danuel House Jr. cites ‘new mindset’ for 2020

“Last year, I felt like I let people down, including myself,” House said. “This year I came in with a new mindset, a new mentality.”

In the 2018-19 NBA season, Rockets forward Danuel House Jr. went from averaging more than 25 minutes per game in the regular season to not playing at all in the final four playoff games of Houston’s unsuccessful second-round series against the Golden State Warriors.

In Thursday’s Game 2 victory by the Rockets in their first-round playoff series versus Oklahoma City, the 27-year-old sent a clear signal to his team and the league that it’s not going to happen again.

In the 111-98 victory (box score), House led the Rockets in minutes (38), rebounds (nine), and his 19 points were No. 2 on the roster — trailing only MVP finalist James Harden. Houston was +19 in the 38 minutes that House played, and -6 in the 10 minutes that he did not.

“Last year, I felt like I let people down, including myself,” House said. “This year I came in with a new mindset, a new mentality.”

House also gave credit to Houston’s coaching staff, led by Mike D’Antoni, and veteran leaders such as Harden, Russell Westbrook, and Eric Gordon. Here’s a sampling of what House said postgame:

It’s great to have great leaders such as Harden, Russ, EG, all the older guys that’s instilling confidence within me and telling me to play my game in the best way. …

We have a good [coaching] staff here. I feel like the staff will work us out and put through drills that are going to be more game-like. I just feel like the staff collectively — besides those two Hall of Famers, of course — are doing an unbelievable job of prepping us for games.

After trailing by six at halftime, House and the Rockets took over Game 2 with a 16-2 run in seven-plus minutes to start the third quarter and a 20-2 run over about seven minutes late in the third quarter and early in the fourth. House was on the court for the vast majority of both runs, with the second coming with Harden mostly on the bench.

“That was the game right there,” Harden said. “The guys just took it upon themselves to guard/ We felt a sense that Oklahoma City was getting tired, and we just kept pressing the gas on them. That was a game-changer right there for us. Huge shoutout to D-House, Jeff [Green], Tuck [P.J. Tucker], all the guys that were in there in that fourth quarter.”

“House came in and was aggressive, helped us attack the rim,” added defensive ace and veteran leader P.J. Tucker. He continued:

They pay so much attention to Eric [Gordon] and James, that House is able to get in there and make some plays alongside with Jeff [Green]. …

They want to take James away? Guess what, we’ve got 12 guys on this team capable of getting it done every night. We’re starting to do that. That’s what it’s going to take for us to win it. If we’re going to win this thing this year, we need everybody to step up in different games, and hold our superstars and go through what they go through.

While House connected on 6-of-13 shots (46.2% FG) overall, including 3-of-8 on 3-pointers (37.5%), he had a stretch in the middle of the game where he went cold and missed six straight shots. But it never seemed to take a toll on his defensive focus or effort.

“Even if you don’t score a basket, as long as I’m defending, rebounding, and staying in front of someone, and this team wins, I’m going to be happy,” House said. “I promise you that. And I’m pretty sure everyone else in the locker room is going to be happy.”

House continued his postgame remarks:

I’m out here competing to make sure that I give my brothers my all. Like I said earlier, my objective is to find more to do. Even if there isn’t more to do, find more to do. If you keep yourself busy and keep yourself moving and playing with a lot of energy, there’s always stuff that can be done. That’s what I’m trying to do. I’m just trying to keep myself moving. I’m trying to use my energy in the right way to help this team win at all costs. …

We want to make sure that guys are not caring about themselves, so guys are showing great energy on the court and off the court. And the guys that are not playing are showing tremendous energy. They’re also being vocal, and they’re communicating with everything that’s going on out there.

At 6-foot-6, House is one of the most athletic, long, and defensively versatile options for Mike D’Antoni’s small-ball scheme. That athleticism was on full display in Thursday’s playoff victory, which gave the Rockets a commanding 2-0 lead over the Thunder in the best-of-seven series.

Back in July, once the NBA’s 2019-20 season finally resumed at the Disney World “bubble” after a long COVID-19 hiatus, Rockets GM Daryl Morey cited House as an early standout at training camp. “I think he realizes that this is one of the key moments of his career,” Morey said. “Last year, he didn’t get the minutes in the playoffs that maybe he thought he would. I think he’s trying to earn those minutes this year.”

Just over a month later, House is doing exactly that.

Game 3 between the Rockets and Thunder will tip off at 5:00 p.m. Central on Saturday, with a national broadcast on ESPN and a regional version (with Houston announcers) on AT&T SportsNet Southwest.

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