Bubble Banner Pursuit

Written by Donald Tolbert

It's going on people. After a brief pause to ensure the world shifted its focus back to black lives, the games restarted. The Houston Rockets have dug themselves into a must win 3 game hole that begins tonight. How will that work out? We will see.

I think there are a few things we know for sure though.

One is in order for this team to elevate to championship level there has to be a system change. With that comes a coaching change. I actually believe that DiAntonis system can win a championship. He hasn't proven himself able to make the adjustments that are required when the primary ball handler is keyed on by the defense. Or the ability to take advantage of the midrange area of the floor when that's what the defense is giving up. The fact that the Rockets dont prefer the midrange has nothing to do with it being the area available to exploit the other team. On top of that, the Rockets have players who can take advantage of the midrange area being open. 

These are the in game adjustments the coach has to see to make to win the game. That's the goal. The goal cant be to prove my thought process works. This stubbornness is why the Rockets are known to let you back in the game. It doesn't allow them to take advantage of the good defense they have played as well.

Also it's time for a system to be built around Hardens greatness. Not one thatrelies on his greatness. Right now Harden has to be great everytime down the floor. His shots are rarely assisted on. Nothing is never easy for him. You can probably count on one hand the number of open shots he has taken all year. It's time for a mind that sees him as the weapon he is and not just a race horse to ride as hard as you can. Dont get me wrong the Rockets have had some of the strongest adversaries for Dlantoni ls system to overcome literally in the history of the game. He has not lost to inferior competition. The point is entering this stage of Hardens career, it's time to merge analytics with in game execution. Harden, Westbrook, and Rockets fans deserve it.