Houston Rockets Eliminated As They Run Out of Miracles – Player Grades
By Tamberlyn Richardson
Player Grades: Houston Rockets Run Out Of Miracles:
It’s been a season of adversity with the Houston Rockets over coming odds time and again. Playing all season decimated by injury, coming back from 1-3 down to beat the Clippers and never giving up.
This series could easily be called the Record Setting Series, but on this night the only record that got set was James Harden turning the ball over for a record breaking 13 times.
I predicted Golden State would win in five, and believe me I take no satisfaction in that prediction, but at the end of the day not having Patrick Beverley available ended up proving costly as the Warriors’ Splash Brothers back court were too much to control. For the record I also predicted the Rockets would beat Dallas in 5 and L.A. in 7 so my record stands unblemished. Honestly, it’s the one time I was hoping to be wrong. And, we should take solace in the fact I believe the Warriors will beat Cleveland (unless the zebra’s keep sending opponents out with flagrant 2’s to help their cause!).
It was an odd game where Draymond Green didn’t seem to have his usual effect, but others raised their level of play. Harrison Barnes was the best Warrior on the court and Andre Iguodala kept coming back on the court to calm the team as the typically loud Oracle Arena seemed much quieter than usual. In the end, it was the Warriors who prevailed and will move on to the finals versus the Cleveland Cavaliers.
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The zebra’s did their best to help keep the Rockets in the contest but in the end James Harden picked the worst time to have his worst game of the series.
As I highlighted in my pregame for the Rockets to win on this night they needed to dominate the boards and the paint, they did neither: Golden State were +20 in rebounds (+9 on the offensive boards) and were +16 in the paint.
We’ll have the post game wrap up in the morning and then we’ll begin the process of reviewing the season and post season of 2014-15. Then the excitement starts as we look to the 2015 draft and free agency. Stay with us for a summer of thoughtful analysis where we at Space City Scoop will endeavor to dream as big as Daryl Morey’s imagination and as deep as his pockets will allow.
On a side note, we extend our prayers and hopes to the fans and residents of Houston who’ve been hit hard by the storms and flooding. We send your our best wishes to stay safe from harm during these extreme weather conditions.
We hope you’ll visit us daily and follow us on social media as we recover from the disappointment of this loss, but we are also anxious to dive into how this team can grow in the off season to reach even greater heights next season.
Next: Pregame analysis ends up being prophetic
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