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Houston Rockets Lose Series, Out of Playoffs: – Team Grades

By Andre Cantalogo

Apr 27, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Houston Rockets head coach J.B. Bickerstaff against the Golden State Warriors during the second quarter in game five of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 27, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Houston Rockets head coach J.B. Bickerstaff against the Golden State Warriors during the second quarter in game five of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /
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With their backs against the wall, facing elimination and playing away from home the Houston Rockets had their work cut out for them in Game 5.  And, although Jason Terry guaranteed victory for Red Nation things were not as easy in reality and the Rockets once again were knocked out by the Warriors through the gentleman’s sweep.

114. 41. . 81. 169

Two missed field goals, turnovers and a 1:12 first quarter timeout. As the first few minutes rolled by I kept wondering: how the heck are the Rockets supposed to win this match.

With the Texan team repeating the same old mistakes over and over again from the entire series I started reflecting at the many issues that weren’t addressed by the Rockets throughout the season – one by one they were being showcased in the game.

The nonsensical rotations, the hero ball, the terrible defensive transition, the inability of defending the three point shot, Corey Brewer…

As Shaun Livingston waltzed through the Rockets defense doing whatever he wanted for the millionth time this series, the Rockets slim chances of advancing slowly vanished as with his help the Warriors opened up a healthy 22 point halftime lead.

Then, by the third quarter it was the Klay Thompson show as the remaining splash brother shot from the parking lot and beyond to get the dubs up 30 points. This was a complete embarrassment for the Houston Rockets franchise. In hindsight many will question why this team bothered to reach the playoffs for absolutely no reason other than to get beaten up by a Warriors team, short a MVP.

So the Houston Rockets says goodbye to the playoffs with lots of work ahead. The first step? Finding a new talented and competent Head Coach.

With this season wrapped up the Space City Scoop will begin our off season work of analyzing the season, players and management.  By virtue of making the playoffs the Rockets lost their draft pick, but that won’t stop the SCS team from looking at this years draft class as the franchise could always make a trade to get in the mix.

Don’t fret Red Nation, the fact the Rockets lost this final game in the manner they did will only solidify the need for a massive shake-up.

With that here are the final player grades of the season:

Rockets Starters Player Grades

F. I don’t know what to say about <a href=. SF. Houston Rockets. TREVOR ARIZA

DONATAS MOTIEJUNAS. C. The Lithuanian <a href=. PF-C. Houston Rockets

C. I wish I’d say that <a href=. C. Houston Rockets. DWIGHT HOWARD

Houston Rockets. JAMES HARDEN. A. <a href=. SG

Houston Rockets. PATRICK BEVERLEY. F. Another player with a mediocre performance. This season served to highlight the Houston Rockets need for a talented play making floor general. Patrick Beverley can still be a part of this team as he is a tough player with amazing heart and grit, however all those attributes are just not enough anymore to make him the starter in Houston, let alone to win the Rockets a championship. 2 points, 4 rebounds. PG

Rockets Reserves Player Grades

F. <a href=. PF. Houston Rockets. JOSH SMITH

<a href=. SG. Houston Rockets. COREY BREWER. F

A careless viewer might not even remember whether or not Jason Terry suited up to play tonight. Terry did play. As a matter of fact he played for over 10 minutes in which he could do absolutely nothing, not even knock down his famous three point shots. A non factor in this series the veteran Jason Terry is another player that probably has played his last game as a Rocket. No points.. G. Houston Rockets. JASON TERRY. F

C. <a href=. PF. Houston Rockets. MICHAEL BEASLEY

INC. Played only in garbage time. No grade.. C. Houston Rockets. CLINT CAPELA

INC. Played in the very last minutes of garbage time, no grade.. SF. Houston Rockets. KJ MCDANIELS

Houston Rockets. ANDREW GOUDELOCK. INC. Played only in garbage time, no grade.. PG

INC. Played only in garbage time, no grade.. PF. Houston Rockets. MONTREZL HARRELL

Rockets Head Coach Grade:

F. The only good thing to come out of this game is that this was likely the last game with J.B. Bickerstaff at the helm of the coaching staff. When J.B. was appointed head coach I expected a modern coach with new ideas and twists. Instead Bickerstaff was an anxious coach that couldn’t handle rotations or define strict roles for his players. He changed the game plan nightly. I wish him well, but it just wasn’t the right spot or the right time for him to become a head coach.. Head Coach. Houston Rockets. J.B. BICKERSTAFF

Best Opponent:

A. It’s just sad having a Head Coach so shortsighted he simply overlooked the key role <a href=. PG. Golden State Warriors. SHAUN LIVINGSTON

SG. Golden State Warriors. KLAY THOMPSON. A. I’m still not fully convinced regarding <a href=

Again, it’s sad the season came down to this lack luster effort. However as the Houston Rockets begin what will surely be an active off season, so too will the Space City Scoop team in our efforts to rebuild this team to a viable contender.

Space City Scoop is always looking to add new talent to our writing team. Currently we’re looking for individuals with a specialized focus. The first area of focus is perfect for someone who is constantly surfing the web for breaking news on injuries, trades, insider info etc. This individual would select the top news items and provide timely quick hits to keep SCS readers in the loop.

The other area of focus is someone who possesses a strong social media background who likes to interact with Clutch City Fans. You’ll promote SCS team content on facebook and twitter while also making sure to promote the best content coming from H-Town fans. If you have this capability and are interested check out this link and fill out an application.

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