Houston Rockets: 3 takeaways from Game 1 vs. Timberwolves

3. James Harden and Clint Capela possess the greatest pick-and-roll chemistry in basketball

For over the last two and a half seasons, no point guard and center tandem in the entire league has proven to be as effective together as James Harden and Clint Capela in the pick-and-roll.

Their chemistry was enough to give Minnesota’s defense a ton of problems in Game 1.

Throughout the first half, Harden was able to find his big man for scoring opportunities on multiple occasions when driving inside — particularly in instances where the Timberwolves sought to double-team him in pick-and-roll sets.

He made Karl-Anthony Towns and Jimmy Butler pay for it in the process, as Harden and the Rockets took full advantage of their failure to tend to the Swiss Roll early in the contest, who threw down several highlight jams on the way to posting a 20-point, 10-rebound stat line midway through the evening.

https://twitter.com/HoustonRockets/status/985702575554154496

"“Clint was all over the place man,” Rockets point guard Chris Paul said in his postgame press conference. “On both ends of the court…he was unbelievable tonight. We’re going to need that all series.”"

Although Capela only managed to score just four points in the second half, one must believe that Houston will seek to continuously call upon the dynamic duo to deliver once again in Game 2 — especially if Minnesota attempts to take away the 3-point line from the Rockets as in Game 1. Head coach Tom Thibodeau — along with the rest of the league — appears to have no answer for stopping them in pick-and-roll scenarios.

With several shooters on the floor, the Timberwolves will be forced to place heavy attention onto Harden, which will more than likely lead to continued success and lobs for Capela. He is more than capable of serving as the primary vertical threat and lob man, as the fourth-year pro has risen up to become the ideal complement to Harden out in H-Town.