Houston Rockets fail to take advantage of rested legs losing to Hawks – Player Grades

. 97. 169. 112. 125

Point Guard. . James<br /> Harden. B+. It was clear James Harden had extra motivation from the tip. In fact his half time numbers were one assist shy of a double-double (24 points/9 assists). That said, his obvious desire to best his former teammate also resulted in several forced passes. Harden was fortunate not to have more turnovers given how much he forced the play. All Rockets fans knew Harden was special, but some of his passes are so spectacular it almost seems like the game plays in slow motion for him. <p>With the Hawks leading by double digits Harden simply took over and by the half had pulled Houston within 6. Shortly after the Rockets took the court after the half he had 12 assists and the Rockets were right back in the game. The problem was that was the point the Hawks turned up the heat and took over the game. Harden had no more assists for the remainder of the game and failed to score in the final frame. By night’s end he had 30 points, 12 assists and 9 rebounds.</p> <p>In spite of these ridiculous stats, he still needs to watch the turnovers as he registered 6 on the night. I know almost getting a triple-double should merit an A, but those turnovers and not pushing the pace right from the start to take away the Hawk’s will ultimately falls on Harden (and D’Antoni’s game plan).</p>

Sure was a tough night for Gordon who up until this game has looked like the better signing of the two Pelicans. Sometimes a player gets shackled with a tag of being a certain type of performer. This seemed to be the case with Gordon tonight as he was unlucky with a few calls. It’s true he isn’t the best defender on the floor, but I point you to 9:30 of the second quarter when Gordon closed out on Korver chasing him off the line and then forced him to cough up the ball. <p>He’s not perfect, but he’s much better than I originally thought. And while he had a tough night overall you have to give him credit for fighting. When your shooting guard is getting 3 blocks which were half of the team total that speaks to his effort.</p> <p>In the end Gordon simply had a poor shooting night, but tough to be too hard on him given how well he’s played to this point in the season. 9 points, 2 assists, 2 rebound, 3 blocks.</p>. Shooting Guard. . Eric<br /> Gordon. C

Trevor<br /> Ariza. C+. Ariza drew the assignment of guarding Korver or whoever was hottest at the moment as I also saw him spend time on Millsap, Bazemore, Schroder and even Howard. Suffice to say it was a long night at the office for Ariza who was in constant motion chasing Korver or being bodied when matched against the larger front court players. <p>If Anderson could have guarded Millsap things would have been a lot easier, but like I said in my game day Paul Millsap truly is an under appreciated player on both ends of the floor. 10 points, 3 rebounds (all in the late stages of the game which tells you how much he was kept running), 2 assist, 1 steal and 1 block</p>. Small Forward.

If it weren’t for his early threes and scoring he would have got an Z. I mean if I knew enough to say D’Antoni shouldn’t put him on Paul Millsap then shouldn’t D’Antoni? Six of the Hawks first nine points came from Millsap courtesy of no defense from Ryno. Brutal, absolutely brutal defense. Factor in Anderson had only 2 rebounds and that pretty much sums up his output. Yes he hit 4 three pointers but all in the first half. <p>And, if you think I’m being too hard on Anderson, I call you to check out the picture above and note how he’s standing watching the play – a frequent stance of his on defense.</p><div class=. Power Forward. . Ryan<br /> Anderson. F

Up until the fourth quarter the student had got the better of the master, but that changed quickly with Howard taking the match-up. At one point Howard literally just shoved Capela out of the way and although Howard was on the wrong end of a call for a clean block on KJ McDaniels he got away with his share of nonsense under the bucket. <p>Remembering this is just Capela’s third season and first as a starter there is ample reason for optimism. Clint still needs to learn the little nuances of besting his counterparts and as he adds size he’ll only improve. 12 points, 10 rebounds , 1 steal. BUT those 5 turnovers cost him some points in his grade.</p>. Center. . Clint Capela. B-

A-. I’m a huge fan of K.J. McDaniels and apparently so are the zebras who called Dwight Howard for a foul on a block he made on McDaniels. Then again if you look at the above picture you get a clear view of the elbow that was planted on KJ’s face by Dwight. <p>KJ entered the game and does what he does… instant energy and improved defense. He made some solid plays in his minutes and continues to showcase growth with added versatility. 13 points, 2 rebounds, 1 block and was the only player who was on the floor longer than 2 minutes with a positive differential +3</p> <p>Here’s a thought, maybe D’Antoni should consider playing KJ even more minutes since he definitely ups the defensive capability of the team. In fact, if I were D’Antoni I’d consider starting KJ so Gordon can feast on the opposing teams bench units.</p>. Small Forward. . KJ<br /> McDaniels

C+. He adds energy and will get you some garbage buckets, but he also is prone to committing silly fouls. Tonight I didn’t think he offered a positive energy as he made some poor choices. Still at least he’s scrappy and tries. 4 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 2 turnovers. Power Forward. . Montrezl Harrell

C. Here’s the thing, you can see the potential for this kid. Still, I found myself annoyed by his inability to hit wide open shots. Tyler Ennis could have had 3 or 4 assists on his own if Dekker had simply delivered on the spot on passes he received. Yes he’s really playing more of a rookie season given his back injury last year, but he needs to be more forceful and confident. Yet, it’s hard to argue the bevy of goodies he delivered: 3 points, 4 rebounds (2 offensive), 3 assists 1 steal in just 17 minutes.. Small Forward. . Sam Dekker

D-. He played? No seriously. Even the photographer was unaware as there were no photos taken of Brewer in the game! <p>1 assist, 2 steals, 2 turnovers, was 0 for 3 from the field (including 2 open three point attempts) and a minus 7 in 15 minutes.</p> <p>Note to Daryl Morey – – please trade this guy, he needs a new team because he certainly isn’t offering the type of production which made him so useful in the first year he arrived.</p>. Shooting Guard. . Corey Brewer

C+. After a game night off and several nights of rest the big man looked somewhat rejuvenated and was the first guy on the court to turn the tide on the boards. His 4 offensive rebounds stood out. <p>He wasn’t particularly successful on the offensive end, but he did manage to halt both Millsap and Howard while he was pitted against them. 2 points, 5 rebounds, 1 block in 12 minutes. Not sure why his minutes were limited to 12 unless there is an injury we aren’t aware of. Also, he was far more successful on defense than his plus/minus (-8) reflects.</p><div class=. Center. . Nene Hilario

C-. I’d love to see Tyler Ennis play more minutes with Eric Gordon (yeah I think that is on a loop – ie you’ve heard me spout it before). As mentioned above, Ennis delivered some quality passes to open players who didn’t translate them into buckets. <p>Minutes for Ennis have come in short supply, but tries to make the best of his time on the court and I”d like to see D’Antoni utilize him more as he constantly demonstrates an ability to move the offense along without getting rattled. His touch pass to the trailing Clint Capela was one of the night’s highlights (second quarter at 7:13). 2 points, 2 rebounds in 7 minutes.</p> <p>Don’t laugh, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Ennis ended up in Philly and excelling there.</p>. Point Guard. . Tyler Ennis