Rockets roll OKC as Harden, ironically, illuminates Westbrook's MVP case
Best players make the best teams, and the Rockets had both in Game 1
By
Matt Moore
•
3 min read
In the maddening maze that was this year's MVP conversation between Russell Westbrook and James Harden (and Kawhi Leonard and LeBron James), teammates were a huge problem. If Harden and Westbrook were more or less equal, then you could argue the award would -- and perhaps already has -- come down to who did more with less.
This is regular-season award, of course. Votes are already in. We won't know for a few months who actually won. But if the Rockets' 118-87 Game 1 beating of Oklahoma City on Sunday night was any indication, this is definitely a point in Westbrook's favor.
Indeed, Harden has a much better team around him.
WATCH: LOOKING AHEAD TO GAME 2
This isn't to say Harden and Westbrook were anything close to equal Sunday night. Harden finished with 37 points on 13-of-28 shooting, seven boards, nine rebounds, three steals, and just two turnovers. He was a maestro. He was brilliant. He slashed through the Thunder and patiently dissected them. He bullied them and whipped around them. Harden was playing with a Super Mario Invincibility Star. He could do almost no wrong.
Westbrook, on the other hand, gave his critics the kind of game they've been waiting to pounce on.
- More shots (23) than points (22)
- More turnovers (9) than assists (7)
- A minus-22.
It was a disaster for Westbrook, and his teammates followed with him. Victor Oladipo, in his first playoff game, was 1 of 12 from the field. Enes Kanter was 3 of 7 and a full-blown liability on defense as the Rockets elected to torture him in the pick and roll. OKC got a great game from Andre Roberson (18 points on 7-of-10 shooting) and still were outscored by 24 points when Roberson was on the floor.
Maybe the most alarming thing about this game from a Thunder perspective was the reversal of defensive identities. The Rockets are supposed to be flawed defensively, but Patrick Beverley and Clint Capela were monsters, and all five Rockets on the floor were connected. Worse than that, the Rockets took the big, bad Thunder and worked them on the glass, beating them 31-2 (not a typo) on second-chance points. They doubled up the Thunder on the offensive glass; OKC's second-leading rebounder, Steven Adams, only had five boards total.
Meanwhile, Beverley was also brilliant with the ball, and Nene and Capela combined to shoot 14 of 17 from the field. Perhaps, all season long, and certainly coming into this series, there was a tendency to think these two teams are pretty even from a talent standpoint because Westbrook and Harden are so evenly matched themselves. But this series isn't about Westbrook and Harden, even if they're the ones on the brochure. It's about the guys around them, and in that way, Game 1 broke down like this:
Harden was the better player. And he has the better team.
You can draw your own conclusions as to what that means for the MVP race, if anything. But it's pretty clear it's advantage Rockets in this series.
Still, this is far from over. Teams lose Game 1 and win series all the time. Heck, last year the Thunder lost Game 1 to the Spurs before winning four of the next five. Maybe next time out, the Thunder will control the glass, Westbrook will get the edge and the series will suddenly be tied heading back to OKC. Just remember, it's not just about Westbrook vs. Harden. This isn't a heads-up battle. Teams are driven, guided by their best players, but how those players play alongside their teammates is what decides series. Right now, it's the Rockets with the most valuable thing a team can have at this point.
A 1-0 series lead.
