defenses, caught between their futile alternatives, started
switching to stay alive. One of the great curiosities in Hous-
ton this season is what Westbrook, after struggling in iso
situations last year and struggling with his efficiency in
general, might do with those one-on-one opportunities. “Well,
hopefully the reason was that the floor was a little closed,”
D’Antoni says of Westbrook’s isolation blues. “We hope that’s
it.” Then comes the smirk. “Now, if he’s just bad at it, what
the hell did y’all give him the MVP for?”
On some level, it’s a moot point. The beauty of the ar-
rangement is that neither Westbrook nor Harden has to be
all things at all times. “James Harden is the best half-court
offensive weapon in the league,” Morey says. “Russell’s the
best transition weapon in the league. The two together, it’s
a really special combination.”
Tyson Chandler, who agreed to sign with the Rockets
the day after they traded for Westbrook, has experienced
the business end of both options. “As far as guarding
James, it’s a nightmare,” Chandler says. “He knows all the
tricks. He’s strong, but then he knows how to play finesse,
so he catches you on your heels. When you’re trying to
not touch him, he bulls you. Then when you’re too ag-
gressive, he exploits it. He’s smart as s---.” When play-
ers such as Chandler talk about Harden, they often start
to imitate him—his handle, his footwork, the contact hecreates—as if his game itself held some animating force.
Attempting to slow down Westbrook, in Chandler’s expe-
rience, draws on an entirely different set of considerations.
“To be honest, when we played against Russ, the whole
thing [was about] getting back and controlling the paint,”
says Chandler. “Giving him a wall. He has to see a wall.”
And even if the defense builds that wall in time, Westbrook
might just run through it anyway. (Harden, by contrast,
might have the wall removed by city ordinance.)
One of the motivating factors in Houston’s trading for
Westbrook was a desire for a more dynamic presence. For
as brilliant as Paul was with the Rockets, he’s ultimately a
micromanager of a point guard—and 34 years old at that.
Those in Houston speak of Paul reverently, though it’s tell-
ing when center Clint Capela incidentally describes him as a
guard “who really needs a screen”—something the Warriors
certainly noticed when they played the Rockets in the con-
ference semifinals. Houston was 27th in pace last year, and
D’Antoni and his staff are urging a faster tempo this season,
in part because Westbrook’s game lends itself to the break so
naturally. Training camp was filled with drills to simulate
uneven fast breaks and accelerated by attempts to get the
ball moving up the floor quickly off makes and misses alike.
Simply having Westbrook on the floor shifts an opponent’s
priorities. When Chandler, then with the Mavericks, played
against Westbrook in the 2011 playoffs, sprinting back to
batten down the hatches became his primary focus. “That’s
what he’s gone against,” Chandler says. “But now, having
James, you can’t do that.” The 19-year veteran has a spe-
cial admiration for Westbrook, whom he describes as his
favorite player in the league. When the schedule allowed
him a night at home, Chandler would tune in to Thunder
games and call his son in from the next room. “Come watch“S---,” Rivers says. “That’s a billion-dollar question.” It’s
always in style to lay a loss at Harden’s feet, no matter that
he averaged 34.8 points for the series and went for 35—on
just 25 shots—in the elimination game. Perhaps Houston
didn’t adjust to the stylistic shift of the series as nimbly as
it should have. It’s certainly fair to call the defense or the
rebounding into question, considering the way that Golden
State’s reserves conjured enough points from chaos to ef-
fectively swing the series. There’s always a complexity in
why, and in this case a mirroring account from Occam’s
razor: Maybe, just maybe, the defending champions were a
good basketball team.
The simpler matter, for Rockets defensive ace P.J. Tucker,
is pinpointing the exact moment when everything fell apart.
“It was all in Game 5,” Tucker says.
When Durant limped into the tunnel late in the third51SPORTS ILLUSTRATED- OCTOBER 21–28, 2019
Inside and Out
HOUSTON ROCKETS at NEW YORK KNICKS
JANUARY 23, 20190 – 4 F T:
24 FOR 424 – 10 F T:
0 FOR 110 FT–3 P T:
2 FOR 3>3 P T:
11 FOR 44OMade OMissedHouston had its ideal shooting night at Madison
Square Garden, taking virtually all threes and shots
at the rim. The only exceptions: a pair of step-back J’s
and one floater from James Harden, and a missed
20-foot jumper by Gerald Green.GREG NELSON (HARDEN); DATA FROM BASKETBALL-REFERENCE.COM
HOUSTON ROCKETS