Topping 159? Hey, it could happen
NEW YORK — Whenever the Rockets had reached toward the limits of offensive possibilities before, they insisted there was more to come. But this time, the envelope seemed pushed as far as it could go.
When they put up 40 3pointers, Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said they could average that many. When they did, he said they could attempt 50. When the Rockets broke the franchise record for 3-pointers, Eric Gordon pledged they’d
break the NBA record. When they topped that, he said they’d hit 30 in a game. But 159 points? Top that? “We could,” D’Antoni said. “I don’t think we did anything out of the ordi
nary (Wednesday). We just played well. There’s no reason we can’t keep playing well. I thought the first two games when we scored 120, 130 we were awful. Yeah, I think we can (top 159).”
Russell Westbrook missed the opportunity to employ his catch phrase “why not?” But a day after the Rockets put up 159 points to take a one-point win in Washington, with the Rockets and Wizards combining for the thirdmost points ever scored in four quarters, those that have been around for three seasons of rewriting record books would not rule out surpassing their newly established franchise record.
“I’m not sure, but anything is possible with this team with the kind of weapons we have,” Gordon said. “It should be the best offensive team we’ve had since I’ve been here. That’s for sure.”
If anything, the Rockets said they failed to take advantage of the scoring opportunities they created, having generated so many. Some of that could be the result of participating in a largely defense-free game. But Westbrook, Gordon and P.J. Tucker did not shoot particularly well, and
the Rockets still got so many good looks they broke franchise records.
So, when asked if 159 is about as high as they can go, Harden said, “Nah.”
“We still had a lot of open-shot opportunities that we missed,” he said a day after scoring 59, his 10th 50-point game in the past two seasons and the fourth-most points of his career. “Obviously, that’s a lot of points. And defensively, that’s too many points to give up. We’ll watch some film to see where we can get better. But offensively, I think we can get better. Defensively, I think we can get way better.”
The Rockets might improve offensively just by getting better defensively. There is little question that they will have to improve on that end to accomplish much overall beyond setting offensive records. But they scored those 159 points while taking the ball out of the basket all night.
The Rockets have played much faster than any other team after made baskets this season only in part because they had had so much practice at it. They have also been the most effective offense in the NBA after made shots, missed shots and overall.
Against the Wizards, they not only found their 3point touch — going from
28.5 percent 3-point shooting in the first three games to sinking 42.6 percent on Wednesday — they ran their offense so well they put up 48 open or wide-open 3pointers.
As much as they have been built for several seasons around placing 3point shooters around Harden, with Westbrook they have dramatically increased their pace and their number of open looks.
“It’s not easy combining two MVPs on a team,” forward Danuel House Jr. said. “They’re doing a good job making sure they find guys when they’re open and make good passes so they can get guys like myself, P.J. Tucker, Gordon looks so we can contribute on a nightly basis.”
Rather than interfere with one another, Harden and Westbrook have offered an effective one-two playmaking punch, combining to average nearly as many assists (19.1) as the entire Rockets team (22.1) last season.
“James and Russ are finding themselves and figuring things out,” D’Antoni said. “When that happens, you have two of the best players ever. You’re going to see a lot of Russ in transition, full court, go. And then you’ll see a lot of James in the halfcourt. They’re willing to defer to each other. They’ve been doing that.
“That’s what we want to do. We want to run to the 3point line and let Russ and James create, and Clint (Capela) will be at the rim. It should work.”
The adjustment to Westbrook has seemed smooth. His 10.3 assists per game are second in the NBA even with Harden’s usage rate still leading the league.
“He’s so talented and athletic and explosive, he gets into the paint and draws so much attention,” Harden said. “Obviously, you have to help or it’s going to be a dunk. That’s when he gets his teammates the ball. Everybody wants to score the basketball, score the basketball. But he does an unbelievable job using his athleticism, creating opportunities for his teammates.”
Rather than Harden adjusting to sharing the ball, Rockets shooters have taken only the first steps toward becoming acclimated to Westbrook’s pace. If that continues to develop, perhaps 159 could be topped, though Westbrook said they scored that many only because it was necessary.
“We won,” Westbrook said. “That’s all I care about. We won and get on to the next.”