You would think D'Antoni would see the bench is capable of playing well when they get minutes and actually use them on a regular basis, but we know when Harden and Russ are in there we will be back to using a 6 man rotation.
Make no mistake, any other team, Rockets would have lost. This is why I will never fear Gobert. Gobert doesn't play well against the Rockets ever. MDA picked the right time to play the lollipop guild.
Gordon scores 50 tonight without walking the ball up the court and isoing multiple possessions. I think Harden could play this same way and still put up big numbers while getting other players involved. He’s just gotta move more off ball like the guys did tonight.
It seems suspicious that the Rockets got calls tonight that they wouldn’t get if Harden was playing. It’s like they purposely choose not to blow the whistle if Harden is in the game.
Only 10 other players since 1983-84 have scored 48 points on 22 or fewer shots...Harden has done it once. Eric Gordon would be the 11th if he can finish the game without taking another shot. Only 3 players have scored 50 on 22 or less shots (Willie Burton, Adrien Dantley, and Kevin Martin)
