The Houston Rockets dominated Game 1 of the 2020 NBA Playoffs against the Oklahoma City Thunder. But they know they still need three more wins to move up to the first round series.
Just ask the Denver Nuggets, who went from a thrilling overtime win over the Utah Jazz in the first game of that Western Conference series to a defeat in Game 2. The Rockets want to avoid a similar turnaround.
When asked at training on Wednesday how Houston celebrated his victory in Game 1 in the NBA “bubble”, striker Robert Covington replied:
Preparing for the game 2. It’s just a game. We are not celebrating anything yet.
Reserve big man Jeff Green (22 points, +28) was a revelation for the Rockets in Game 1, also playing in place of Covington alongside the starters in the fourth quarter. But as soon as Tuesday’s first game went to the final, he said it was already time for the team to move on.
“Now, the focus is on Thursday and Race 2,” Green said. “Every game will be different, I’m pretty sure OKC will try to make some changes. We need to be ready for match 2. “
22 points to the bench in the victory of Jeff Green!#OneMission L @reliantenergy pic.twitter.com/TqaxNmeVpa
– Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) 19 August 2020
All-Star guard Russell Westbrook (right quad strain) will be sidelined again on Thursday, so backcourt co-star and MVP finalist James Harden will be the clear focal point. “The Beard” scored 37 points out of 12 of 22 shots (54.5%) in Game 1, but what if the Thunder tries to trap and force the ball out of his hands even more?
Excluding Harden, the Rockets shot 14 of 39 with 3 points (35.9%) on Tuesday, which was solid but not great. “I think we had a lot of shooting opportunities that we missed which were really good shots,” Harden said after the game. In particular, Covington struggled with 1 of 5 from 3 points (20%) and may need more from him in Race 2.
The Rockets also benefited from having only seven turnovers. In the 2019-20 regular season, they averaged over 14 per game and putting pressure on Harden in Westbrook’s absence could force secondary ball managers like Eric Gordon and Austin Rivers into bigger roles than usual. Even the Thunder shouldn’t be so surprised by Mike D’Antoni’s new twist in using green as an occasional “center point,” as he called it after the game.
At a minimum, more pressure and traps could help slow Houston’s pace, which punished the Thunder in the transition sequences.
Billy Donovan on the defeat in Race 1: “We are not back in transition. We have given up on (too many) open 3-point shots. We have to go back to our identity. The answer is that we will all have to play better going forward. “
– Brandon Rahbar (@BrandonRahbar) 19 August 2020
Then again, the Rockets also had a mid-court surgical execution. Driven by Harden’s genius, Houston’s offensive half-court score of 129 was the best of any game all season against a playoff opponent.
Final game 1 stats:
The Rockets had a 129 ORTG at half court. No other team has had a better half-court ORTG so far than 118 in the playoffs (Toronto).
It’s Houston’s best score of the season against a playoff team and OKC’s worst result against any team.
Ridiculous
– Disney Gary Clark (@ Itamar1710) 19 August 2020
For the Thunder, Danilo Gallinari (29 points) and Chris Paul (20 points, nine assists) fared well, with each shot 50% or better from the field. But guards Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Dennis Schroder fought hard, shooting only 5 of 20 combined (25%) for 15 points.
The Thunder could give more minutes to big shots like Darius Bazley and Mike Muscala in an attempt to open more driving lanes.
The Houston Rockets defense was excellent last night, limiting Schroder and SGA to a total of 15 points on 5-20 FGs, forcing the Thunder to shoot hard jumpers and only conceding 38 points in the paint.
Here are their best defensive highlights from the first match against the Thunder: pic.twitter.com/o5D56zBAwz
– Disney Gary Clark (@ Itamar1710) 19 August 2020
The Oklahoma City players seemed to be expressing surprise after the game at Houston’s ability to still protect the circle, despite having a small formation.
As can be expected, the Thunder have promised to make changes and potentially give Gallinari even more touches and shot attempts. Gallinari was the OKC’s top scorer in the regular season and, at 1.8 meters tall, is taller than any other player in Houston’s current rotation.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: “I wasn’t ready for how they protected the paint.”
Shai and Donovan have both mentioned the Rockets paint protection multiple times. Shai said they would make a couple of adjustments.
I expect OKC to play non-shooters less time so Houston can’t duck.
– Brandon Rahbar (@BrandonRahbar) 19 August 2020
Chris Paul: “We have to find Steve-O and Gallo.”
Adams and Gallinari scored 17 and 29 points, and both scored efficiently.
– Brandon Rahbar (@BrandonRahbar) 19 August 2020
The biggest problem for the Thunder may be basic math. The Rockets shot a total of 48.3% in Game 1 and 38.5% with 3 points, while the Thunder came in at 44.0% and 37.1% respectively. Houston only had a slight lead on shot attempts, 89 to 84, while the Thunder shot six more free throws (25 to 19) and won the rebound battle by 10. At face value, those numbers should suggest a relatively close game, not one where the thunder has never hit a single digit in the past 35 minutes.
As it turned out, the defining statistic was 3-point volume. Houston shot 20 of 52 and Oklahoma City 13 of 35, giving him a net advantage of 21 points. For the season, the Rockets finished first in the NBA in 3-point attempts (45.4), while the Thunder were fourth last (30.2).
???? 20 3s made in winning game 1! pic.twitter.com/mYqUWxVXBA
– Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) 19 August 2020
If the Rockets make a satisfying percentage of those hits and the Thunder can’t turn down the volume, it’s an important mountain to climb, even with the size of Gallinari and Steven Adams.
The pressure also appears to be directed at Oklahoma City. With games in the Disney World bubble in Florida, it’s not as if the scene will change between Game 2 and Game 3 (as it usually does) to potentially change the momentum. Also, Houston goes up 2-0, could allow them to be even more conservative with Westbrook’s quadruple recovery, so if it is needed to win this streak, it could be closer to 100 percent.
Game 2 between the Rockets and Thunder begins Thursday at 2:30 pm Central with a national broadcast on ESPN and a regional version (with Houston announcers) on AT&T SportsNet Southwest. For subscribers, both networks have streaming available on their mobile apps.
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