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Houston Rockets: The Beginning Of The End

By Mauricio Putz

Apr 28, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) talks with teammates during the second quarter against the Dallas Mavericks in game five of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 28, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) talks with teammates during the second quarter against the Dallas Mavericks in game five of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports /
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Heartless. That’s the only way we can define the Houston Rockets’ tasteless, to say the least, farewell to the Dallas Mavericks. Ironically, that was one of Billboard’s Top 100 songs the last time the Houston Rockets won a playoff series, back in the 2008-09 playoffs.

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Just before advancing to their second Western Conference semifinals in nearly two decades, the Houston Rockets lived up to their expectations and dominated one of the most respected teams and organizations in the NBA, the Dallas Mavericks.

During Game 5, with only four players in double digits, the Houston Rockets proved to be too much to handle for the Dallas Mavericks. During the game, the 2014-15 MVP runner-up James Harden extended his otherworldly level of play by scoring at will on the Mavericks.

Harden filled up the stat sheet with 28 points and eight assists, and went 4-for-8 from beyond the arc.*

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Shotchart_1430347990625 /

Dwight Howard had 18 points and 19 rebounds for the game as he grabbed 23.7-percent of the available rebounds while he was on the court, the second-highest rate during the playoffs.

However, the real stars of the game were Terrence Jones and Josh Smith.

After a couple of solid playoff performances from the Rockets’ role players, Terrence Jones had 10 of his 15 points during the fourth quarter, and Josh Smith had 20 points off the bench, burying the Dallas Mavericks’ chances to force a Game 6 in front of their relentless crowd.

Here’s Smith’s and Jones’ performance at the rim through the first-round:

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Now, as they wait for the San Antonio Spurs or the Los Angeles Clippers, the Houston Rockets must get over the hype of going past the first round for the first time in six years and start thinking about the next challenge.

The Rockets will have a chance to rest while the Spurs and the Clippers keep trading punches through a six-game series (for now) that should leave either advancing team in shambles. Also, they will have a valuable home-court advantage against either team. Unfortunately, based on the regular season, either matchup will be an unfortunate one for the Rockets.

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11Houston Rockets2-21-3

Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 4/29/2015.

During the regular season, the Houston Rockets had a 3-5 combined record against the Clippers and the Spurs and and were held to an average of 99.3 points per game, almost four full points below their regular season average of 103.9.

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2 Houston Rockets international players that never played a single minute
2 Houston Rockets international players that never played a single minute /

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    • Four out of those five losses, the Rockets’ defense was unable to hold either the Spurs or the Clippers to less than 100 points — Spurs (3), Clippers (1).

    The Rockets offense has improved quite a bit since the playoffs got started, their 103.9 ppg average jumped all the way to 114.2. Of course, this is a direct result of having a favorable matchup against one of the worst overall defenses — regular-season and playoffs — in the NBA.

    Their defense, on the other hand, has gotten worse. After holding opponents to only 100.5 ppg during the regular season, the Rockets are now allowing 110.2 ppg during the playoffs.

    The previous issues might’ve not been enough for the declining Dallas Mavericks to put an end to the far superior Houston Rockets’ season.

    However, if the Rockets think they can rely solely on their offense during the second-round, against two of the most vicious on-ball defenders in the league, the Rockets are a James Harden vs. Kawhi Leonard/Chris Paul matchup from getting trounced.

    * Throughout the series, James Harden averaged 28.4 points, 7.8 assists, and 3.8 rebounds per game. Harden also took 10.4 free throws per game and made 96.2-percent of them.

    Next: Rockets: Is Howard A Liability?

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