It was to the surprise of nobody that the Houston Rockets absorbed a beating in Game 1 of their first round series with the Golden State Warriors. They tried to impose their will with some chippy play early on, but ultimately they succumbed to the better team. This has become a trend for Houston for the entirety of the 2015-16 season. Instead of asserting themselves as a top flight team, when the going got tough, the Rockets put on the brakes. Just one year ago this match-up took place in the Western Conference Finals. Now it is probably going to end in a sweep and be a footnote in another historic Warriors campaign. But what does it mean for Houston, a team that has metaphorically misfired as much this season as they literally did from the floor in Game 1?
They have one of the more talented teams in not only the Western Conference, but the league as a whole. Despite his matador defensive tendencies, James Harden is a legitimate MVP contender. Dwight Howard, with all his faults, is still one of the best centers going. Trevor Arizona and Patrick Beverley are both unsung nuisances on both ends of the floor for opponents. Why can’t this team get it together?
Firing Kevin McHale was supposed to be the cure for their ills, but it seemed to only send the team into a further tailspin. Jettisoning the cancerous Ty Lawson was intended to free up space in the rotation, yet it only bred more discontent within the locker room. The 2015-16 Rockets were that child that would beg you for a certain toy for months, only to slam it on the ground and break it once they finally got it.
But they some how, some way, they sneaked their way into the playoffs. It took the Sacramento Kings pulling the basketball equivalent of the Finger Poke of Doom to do so, but they did it. The Rockets now are at an impasse that crept up on them faster than many could have imagined.
They aren’t going to beat the Warriors in this series. They more than likely won’t win a game. And their “reward” for this is going to be a tumultuous offseason. Coach J.B. Bickerstaff is a man way out of his depth with this roster. His puzzling lack of adaptation to opponents and almost contentious ignorance of game trends puts the club at an even bigger disadvantage. Although that roster is sure to change greatly this summer, the team could very well be, and should be all things considered, getting another coach. However, another coach means another system which means more excuses for the team not being able to succeed.
The Rockets find themselves at a franchise crossroads. Can GM Daryl Morey start from scratch and admit that all the carefully crafted moves he made didn’t work? Can all that analysis and mathematical legwork be chalked up as an experiment gone bad? If not, then this Rockets team will try to add a couple small pieces this offseason to put a band-aid on a bullet wound. If so, then there is a possibility that the Rockets will tear it down and rebuild.
There is something fundamentally wrong in Houston, but it isn’t a lack of endeavor. There just comes certain times in the course of a franchise’s trajectory when some introspection is necessary. This season proved that the Rockets have reached that point. Game 1 was a microcosm of everything that could have, and has, gone wrong with the club. Now they may not be able to do anything about it in this short series, but a culture change can occur in Houston quickly. It will have to before so this season becomes just a singular misfire rather than a proverbial blown engine.