The Houston Rockets broke from their shooting slump to shock the NBA world with a dominant performance over the San Antonio Spurs in Game 1
The Houston Rockets shook the NBA playoff landscape with a dominant performance against the San Antonio Spurs in Game 1. The Rockets kept their early form up and ran out 126-99 victors.
The Rockets were led in scoring by Trevor Ariza, who put away 23 points, and Harden had another standout performance with 20 points and 14 assists.
The Start
The Rockets’ first quarters was something that they needed to fix to stand a chance against the Spurs. You could say that mission was successful. The Rockets shot 54.5 percent (12-22) overall and 46.2 percent (6-13) from the three-point line en route to a 34-23 first quarter lead.
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After that, Houston never looked back.
The Shooting
Houston’s shooting slump in the first round is apparently over. Carrying on from their first quarter, Houston went 22-50 from three. Their prolific shooting made their floor-spacing ideal, and their pick-and-roll game came easy for much of the night.
Ryan Anderson shook off his first round shooting jitters and hit 40 percent from beyond the arc; his role in stretching the floor helped Houston’s offence tick along.
Game 1 showed what the Rockets are capable of and how their willingness to shoot the long shot adds so many variables in a game.
The Defense
Houston shooting well isn’t exactly a first. However, their defense was just as prolific in Game 1. The Rockets’ defence was active and were constantly rotating to shooters, whilst double-teaming Kawhi Leonard on screens. If the Rockets can continue to defend Leonard as well as they did in Game 1, his supporting cast will need to stand up.
The Opponent
As good as the Houston Rockets were good, the Spurs were bad.
The Spurs are 0-of-10 on drives to the basket. They averaged 22.5 PPG on drives on 51% shooting in the 1st round per @ESPNStatsInfo
— Michael C. Wright (@mikecwright) May 2, 2017
A slump like this from the usually mega-efficient Spurs is hopefully a one time event. Otherwise this series will be a short one.
Much maligned by fans, LaMarcus Aldridge had the worst game of his career. He looked completely out of sorts.
Spurs with Aldridge on the floor: -36
— Quixem Ramirez (@quixem) May 2, 2017
Spurs with Aldridge on the bench: +9
As a whole, the defense from the Spurs’ big men was questionable all game. Gregg Popovich called a timeout early in the first quarter and ripped into David Lee for missing a defensive assignment which led to a three-pointer.
A team like the Rockets will punish any defensive lapse. The trend continued throughout the night, with shot after shot going over the Spurs’ heads.
Towards the end of the night, the Spurs were rattled and it led to a fiery last quarter.
Dewayne Dedmon and James Harden were in each others’ face, leading to Nene grabbing Deadmon by the throat and getting ejected from the game.
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Whilst signs were definitely not good for the Spurs, Houston needs to continue to stay the course. If there’s anything we know about this Spurs, it’s that they’re going to come back strong. And the Houston Rockets likely won’t see the Game 1 Spurs again.