Houston Rockets Daily Rocket Science: As expected

Nobody expected the Rockets to do well in this series…and game one confirmed our doubts.

The Houston Rockets finished the first quarter with 15 points. Stephen Curry finished the first quarter with 16 points. The Golden State Warriors took whatever they wanted during game one and doesn’t show any signs of slowing things down as the series continues. Granted, I think it is complete folly that James Harden didn’t shoot a free throw. There were several calls that I thought were blatantly wrong, but the Rockets wouldn’t have fared any better had Harden scored 10 more points from the charity stripe.

Houston Rockets news and notes from around the web

To dive deeper into the first playoff game of the Warriors’ historic season, Grant Hughes of Bleacher Report wrote that the Warriors already have the Rockets backed into a corner. Anything can happen with the Beard being a constant 50-point or triple-double threat, but I’d be surprised if things turn around for Houston this year.

"If anyone was looking for proof these Rockets   spend the season hating each other, this game failed to provide it. Dirty looks after surrendered buckets and multiple voices shouting at one another in the huddle (  and Patrick Beverley sang a particularly discordant duet during a second-quarter timeout after the Dubs had expanded the lead to 54-30) conspicuously advertised the Rockets’ dysfunction. didn’t Josh Smith"

In case you missed it, we did a roundtable discussion at Space City Scoop and opined on a number of topics. The third installment delved into the ins and outs of this unfortunate playoff series Houston finds itself in. It’s pretty humbling to see nearly everyone on staff at Space City Scoop have such bleak expectations, but that’s just what’s realistic.

"The Warriors are the best team in basketball history (at least that’s what their record says), and it took Houston all 82 games to clinch a playoff berth. It just makes sense for the Rockets to lose. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a repeat of last year’s match-up, with Warriors taking it in a gentleman’s sweep, 4-1. The Rockets could steal another one if they caught Golden State napping, but I’ll be floored if this series is competitive at all."

More from Space City Scoop

• Why Tad Brown is the Rockets’ biggest loss to date
• Rockets legend in awe over Stephen Curry’s level of play
• Rockets fiasco shows importance of Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook
• Houston Rockets: Evan Mobley worth a look at No. 2 in NBA Draft
• Houston Rockets: Ranking the top-five 2021 NBA draft prospects 

What could the Rockets do to make this series a little more competitive? There are a ton of possible answers to that question, but Space City Scoop’s Quoc Thai addresses one of the most obvious ones: make Dwight Howard an integral part of the team again! I’m biased as an unashamed D12 fan, but the best chance the Rockets have at beating Golden State is by beating them down low.

Maybe, just maybe, the key to beating the Warriors is not to play their game. Maybe the Rockets need to play big, or at least not play small. Maybe the Rockets need to lower the tempo and force the Warriors into an unfamiliar kind of game.

There is a huge benefit to having Howard on the floor vs. the Warriors. The Warriors are a high volume shooting team, and so are the Rockets, having Howard on the floor would provide valuable rebounding and rim protection, in the case Stephen Curry decides to drive to the basket.

That’ll do it for today’s Daily Rocket Science. Tune back in to Space City Scoop over the next week for more playoff updates. The Rockets tip off next on Monday at 9:30, and hopefully the next game won’t look so one-sided.

Send our Editor any Rockets-related article/video/tweet/gram/vine that we may have missed via Twitter direct message to @TTOTambz.

Next: Houston Rockets SCS Roundtable Part 1

Next: Houston Rockets SCS Roundtable Part 2

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