Tag: Mike D’Antoni

Game 2, Rockets vs. Thunder: How and what to watch for

Both teams shot nearly the same 3-point percentage in Game 1, but Houston had a 21-point edge due to volume. That’s a lot to make up.

The Houston Rockets dominated Game 1 of the 2020 NBA playoffs against the Oklahoma City Thunder. But they’re well aware that they still need three more victories to advance from the first-round series.

Just ask the Denver Nuggets, who went from a thrilling overtime victory over the Utah Jazz in Game 1 of that Western Conference series to a blowout loss in Game 2. The Rockets want to avoid a similar turnaround.

When asked at Wednesday’s practice how Houston celebrated its Game 1 win at the NBA “bubble,” forward Robert Covington replied:

Preparation for Game 2. It’s only one game. We’re not celebrating anything just yet.

Reserve big man Jeff Green (22 points, +28) was a revelation for the Rockets in Game 1, even playing in Covington’s place alongside the starters in the fourth quarter. But as soon as Tuesday’s Game 1 went final, he said it was already time for the team to move on.

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“Now, the focus is geared toward Thursday and Game 2,” Green said. “Each game is going to be different, I’m pretty sure that OKC is going to try to make some adjustments. We have to come ready for Game 2.”

All-Star guard Russell Westbrook (right quad strain) will again be sidelined Thursday, so backcourt co-star and MVP finalist James Harden will be the clear focal point. “The Beard” scored a game-high 37 points on 12-of-22 shooting (54.5%) in Game 1, but what happens if the Thunder try to trap and force the ball out of his hands even more?

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Excluding Harden, the Rockets shot 14-of-39 on 3-pointers (35.9%) on Tuesday, which was solid but not great. “I think we had a lot of shot opportunities that we missed that were really good shots,” Harden said postgame. In particular, Covington struggled at 1-of-5 from 3-point range (20%), and they may need more from him in Game 2.

The Rockets also benefited by only having seven turnovers. In the 2019-20 regular season, they averaged over 14 per game, and pressuring Harden in Westbrook’s absence could force secondary ball-handlers like Eric Gordon and Austin Rivers into bigger roles than usual. The Thunder also shouldn’t be as surprised by Mike D’Antoni‘s new wrinkle of utilizing Green as an occasional “point center,” as he called it postgame.

At a bare minimum, more pressure and traps might help to slow Houston’s pace, which punished the Thunder in transition sequences.

Then again, the Rockets had surgical execution in halfcourt settings, as well. Led by Harden’s brilliance, Houston’s halfcourt offensive rating of 129 was its best of any game all season versus a playoff opponent.

For the Thunder, Danilo Gallinari (29 points) and Chris Paul (20 points, nine assists) fared well, with each shooting 50% or better from the field. But guards Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Dennis Schroder struggled mightily, shooting just 5-of-20 combined (25%) for 15 points.

The Thunder could give more minutes to shooting bigs like Darius Bazley and Mike Muscala in a bid to open up more driving lanes.

Oklahoma City players seemed to express surprise postgame at Houston’s ability to still protect the rim, despite having a small lineup.

As can be expected, the Thunder vowed to make adjustments and potentially to give Gallinari even more touches and shot attempts. Gallinari was OKC’s leading scorer in the regular season, and at 6-foot-10, he’s taller than any player in the current Houston rotation.

The biggest problem for the Thunder could be basic math. The Rockets shot 48.3% overall in Game 1 and 38.5% on 3-pointers, while the Thunder came in at 44.0% and 37.1%, respectively. Houston had only a slight advantage in shot attempts, 89 to 84, while the Thunder shot six more free throws (25 to 19) and won the rebounding battle by 10. At face value, those numbers should suggest a relatively close game — not one where the Thunder never came within single digits over the last 35 minutes.

As it turned out, the defining statistic was 3-point volume. Houston shot 20-of-52 and Oklahoma City 13-of-35, making for a net advantage of 21 points. For the season, the Rockets ranked first in the NBA in 3-point attempts (45.4), while the Thunder were fourth-to-last (30.2).

If the Rockets make a satisfactory percentage of those shots and the Thunder aren’t able to reduce the volume, that’s a major mountain to climb — even with the size of Gallinari and Steven Adams.

The pressure appears to be squarely on Oklahoma City, too. With games at the Disney World bubble in Florida, it’s not as if the scene will shift between Game 2 and Game 3 (as it usually does) to potentially change momentum. Moreover, Houston goes up 2-0, it could allow them to be even more conservative with Westbrook’s quad recovery — so that if he is needed to win this series, he might be closer to 100 percent.

Game 2 between the Rockets and Thunder tips off at 2:30 p.m. Central on Thursday with a national broadcast on ESPN and a regional version (with Houston announcers) on AT&T SportsNet Southwest. For subscribers, both networks have streaming available on their mobile apps.

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