Rockets Still Pose Little Threat to Golden State Warriors

Reigning MVP Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors swept MVP runner-up James Harden and the Houston Rockets in their four regular season matchups last year.

The Warriors would later add insult to injury by decisively eliminating the Rockets from the Western Conference Finals in five games.

And they ain’t even that good, man.

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Ask almost any Rockets fan, however, and they’ll most likely come up with some sort of excuse as to why the Warriors unbelievably beat their team by a point differential of +14.4 in eight out of their nine matchups.

Injuries to a particular player is by far the most commonly used excuse, as apparently it would have been a guaranteed sweep in the Conference Finals had Patrick Beverley not been injured, putting the clamps on Curry early on in the series.

Of course, that’s if you consider “putting the clamps” on a player as allowing that player to average 23 points, 5.7 rebounds, 9.3 assists, and 1.3 steals while shooting at or above 50 percent from the field in the three times they matched up.

But with the slates wiped clean and Houston primed for a fresh start, how exactly are things going for Harden and the self-proclaimed “Swag Champs?”

Well, the one thing that the Rockets desperately needed last season against the Warriors was another offensive threat behind Harden, so Rockets general manager Daryl Morey went out and signed free agent scoring guard Marcus Thornton.

Other offseason moves for the Rockets included drafting Wisconsin’s Sam Dekker and Louisville’s Montrezl Harrell, in addition to re-signing Corey Brewer and Beverley.

But by far the biggest move Houston made in the offseason was trading for former Denver Nuggets point guard, Ty Lawson.

Of course, this transaction was unlike any other this offseason, as Lawson first had to make a stop at Cliffside Malibu — a luxury rehabilitation center in California that specializes in both addiction and psychiatric treatment.

Lawson, who was arrested last July for driving under the influence, had been previously arrested for DUI back in January. After checking into rehab, the Rockets took the opportunity to nab the “troubled” point guard, giving up a 2016 lottery-protected first-round pick, Nick Johnson, Kostas Papanikolaou, Pablo Prigioni, Joey Dorsey and cash considerations.

With career averages of 14.2 points, 6.6 assists and 2.9 rebounds per game, Lawson is clearly a huge offensive upgrade over Beverley. If one thing is for sure, it’s that Kevin McHale will be happy to have another creator in the offense, which in turn will help lighten the load for Harden.

Digging deeper into the positive difference that Lawson makes for the Rockets, it’s no secret that Houston’s offense revolved solely around Harden, as evidenced by the 14-point drop in the team’s offensive rating when Harden was off the floor.

Now that the Rockets have traded for last season’s third-highest assist man (9.6 APG), the Rockets have another playmaker that’s capable of finding the open man and worthy of drawing in the defense.

Fans can expect Lawson to get a plethora of wide open looks with opponents focusing much of their defensive effort on wherever Harden happens to finds himself. Plus, when he’s sober, Lawson is one of the top driving guards in the game, averaging the fifth highest amount of drives per game (11.9).

That being said, it’s still incredibly difficult to see how the Lawson addition moves the Rockets ahead of the Warriors, let alone the Western Conference.

The Warriors retained their championship core this offseason by re-signing Draymond Green to a five-year, $82 million contract, and Klay Thompson‘s new four-year, $70 million contract only just kicks in this coming season.

Also topping the list of reasons why Golden State is in such a good spot: Andre Iguodala and Andrew Bogut are signed on for at least the next couple years, the bench still sports guys like Shaun Livingston, Leandro Barbosa, Marreese Speights and Festus Ezeli, Harrison Barnes is set for an affordable extension, head coach Steve Kerr has nowhere to go but up, and, most importantly, Curry has no plans to leave the Bay Area for anything once free agency hits.

In other words, the same team that kept the Rockets from taking off last season is the same team the Rockets will be facing come October.

Furthermore, as much of a positive that Lawson is for the Rockets, he’s still a 5’11” question mark that won’t be answered until after the All-Star break.

The question marks surrounding his off court activities is still very much a relevant problem, as well as the problem that McHale faces when trying to figure out how to balance two offensively proficient, but defensively lacking guards that both need the ball in their hands to be effective.

Being the most popular team in basketball, the Warriors will undoubtedly face an uphill battle on the road to a repeat. They’ll also likely have to cross paths with a healthy Oklahoma City Thunder team in the playoffs, as well as their rivals to the south, the Los Angeles Clippers.

And while this goes without mentioning — LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers still remain one of the biggest threats to every team in the NBA.

But until the Lawson situation is sorted out, the only team in Texas that the Warriors need to be worried about is the San Antonio Spurs, who added an element in the offseason after luring LaMarcus Aldridge away from the Portland Trailblazers.

Unless the Rockets get a Rookie of the Year performance from Dekker and masterfully orchestrate a situation in which Lawson finds a way to coexist with Harden early on in the year, then really the best move the Rockets made this offseason was letting go of Dwight Howard‘s bestie, Josh Smith.

Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

For a team that will remain one of the top teams in the NBA, that probably won’t be enough to contend for a title in a Western Conference that significantly improved.

The Warriors will play a best-of-three regular season series this year with the Rockets, two of which will be played in Houston.

The first matchup is scheduled for Oct. 30 in Houston, in which the Rockets greet the Warriors as the first game of a back-to-back. The second matchup will be on New Years Eve in Houston on the back end of a back-to-back. The third will be at Oracle Arena in Oakland on Feb. 9 as the first game of a back-to-back.

We’re going on a trip in our favorite rocket ship, DubNation. It’s not the best case scenario in terms of scheduling, but nevertheless, be sure to mark your calendars early so you can catch these two powerhouse teams battle it out in pursuit of a Western Conference title.

Next: Would David West Have Been a Better Fit Than Jason Thompson?

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