National Basketball Association

Houston Rockets lose season opener to Lakers - Player Grades and Recap

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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October 26, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Jordan Clarkson (6) celebrates the 120-114 victroy as Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) walks off the court following the second half at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

All preseason the Houston Rockets preached how they were committed to both ends The loss to the Lakers in the season opener should serve as a reminder to walk the walk, not just talk the talk.

James Harden showed up to showcase his passing skills early, dishing 14 first half assists. As expected offense wasn’t the problem and perhaps the Rockets fell victim to playing down to their competition. In the end, the Rockets got what they deserved (a loss) for allowing a young team with nothing to lose to stick around.

Houston Rockets114

If you listened to the pundits and analysts heading into the regular season it was a common opinion the Rockets would suffer on defense. More concisely, that the Rockets wouldn’t make the effort on defense or didn’t have the manpower to succeed. Throughout the preseason the Rockets players delivered the message they were committed and were keen to perform.

Those messages went out with the dish water last night, and certain players did nothing to silence the critics. Ryan Anderson and Corey Brewer were particularly bad. And while there were moments of man on man defensive stands the team on a whole simply didn’t communicate.

Additionally no effort was made to stop the Lakers in transition. Although the LA squad did hit some well defended perimeter shots the overall defensive effort should keep Jeff Bzdelik busy for hours reviewing film.

JamesHarden

Point Guard

BIt wasn’t an especially efficient shooting night from behind the arc (1 of 7), but it’s hard to put this on Harden’s back. Yes, he is now the leader, so it’s up to him to get the team communicating which they were not. But, he did virtually everything else. By the half he had 16 points and 14 assists (yes, you read that correctly). By night’s end Harden had 34 points, 17 assists, had been to the line 16 times connecting on all free throws save for one and collected 8 rebounds. In an ongoing story line Harden turned the ball over 7 times (half of the teams’ total). As great as Harden’s offensive output was the fact he has claimed the leadership mantel means the onus is on him to make sure the team is working as a unit. When he was dropping dimes all over the court but they weren’t pulling ahead he should have assembled the squad and made sure they locked down defensively. You can live with a team who is scoring in spite of solid defense, but not putting in any effort and allowing a team like the Lakers to score 63 first half points is unacceptable. Does it all fall on Harden? No, but as the leader with the team revamped to suit his desires means he’ll get the accolades in success, but also carry the burden in the defeats. That and his 7 turnovers cost him a full grade.

EricGordon

Shooting Guard

B-Gordon has delivered (at least in my opinion) so far. He’s looked much better on defense than I expected. He was far from the worse offender and at least attempted to stop his man and communicate, which is more than a few of his counterparts. D’Antoni ideally wants Gordon coming off the bench and I wonder why he didn’t stick with that choice. KJ McDaniels should have started as it could have at least put another defender on the court. Curiously D’Antoni barely used McDaniels, and by the time he got in the game the Lakers were already comfortable. In 34 minutes Gordon scored 19 points adding 5 rebounds and a steal.

TrevorAriza

Small Forward

C-Another poor shooting night for Ariza, who at least attempted to be active which resulted in 2 steals. He also had 5 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists. Clearly Ariza needs help especially trying to make up one of his teammates deficiencies (see below).

RyanAnderson

Power Forward

comfortable in the Rockets system. That said, it’s still early and
Anderson will have time to adjust given this Rockets’ juggernaut on
offense. There are moments he seems a bit lost on defense, so we’ll hope
he adapts on that end quickly. To that end, tonight he was far better
on the opponents side of the court posting a team high plus
15

Clint Capela

Center

Best Reserve:

KJMcDaniels

Small Forward

BWhy D’Antoni elected not to start McDaniels is beyond me. What everyone I spoke to during the game kept asking was why he didn’t play more and didn’t start. And, this is not directed at Gordon, rather it would have allowed the Rockets to start the game with more intensity defensively with Ariza, Capela and McDaniels. In spite of his few minutes (12) he was perfect from the field (5 of 5) scored 11 points, added a rebound and was the only reserve with a plus differential.

Best Opponent:

Jordan Clarkson

Shooting Guard

Mike D’Antoni: part of the blame has to fall on D’Antoni’s shoulders for the decisions he did or didn’t make.

I’d give D’Atoni a D for this night’s game because he had the ability to stop the bleeding early and chose not to.

While the box score shows Houston lost the game in the fourth quarter, the reality is the Rockets lost the game in the first quarter. Specifically in the first frame Houston allowed the Lakers unfettered access all over the court resulting in 38 points. If nothing else this game serves as a painful reminder not to get too arrogant because giving a young team confidence will come back to bite you.