nice writeup, deserves its own thread http://www.nba.com/article/2018/04/...yoff-run-gets-victorious-if-challenging-start Rockets begin playoff run in victorious, if challenging, fashion It took everything James Harden (44 points) had to will Houston past Minnesota in Game 1 Sekou Smith NBA.com @SekouSmithNBAArchive Apr 16, 2018 1:58 AM ET James Harden and the Rockets survived a stern Game 1 test from the Timberwolves. HOUSTON — If the long road to June basketball is to come to fruition for the best regular-season team in basketball, it had to start like this for the Houston Rockets. That first step, that first foray into the great postseason abyss, required this sort of confirmation from the No. 1 overall seed in the entire tournament, so to speak. There’s no room for Cinderellas around here, no slaying of Goliath, not on Clint Capela’s watch. Not with James Harden on the case when the Rockets needed it most, and especially at crunch time. And not with Chris Paul, chip planted firmly on his shoulder as always, eyeballing bigger and better things than being the best from late October to mid-April. So it won’t be easy. Nobody said it would be. And let’s be clear, the Minnesota Timberwolves are not a normal eight seed. Not really. A healthy Jimmy Butler and the infusion of veteran talent that helped end the second longest playoff drought in NBA history this season makes that big a difference. They certainly did Sunday night at Toyota Center, when the Rockets were forced to battle until the very end for a 104-101 win despite a 44-point masterpiece from Harden. But like everyone else who dealt with these juggernaut Rockets all season long, Harden and his crew proved to be too much with the game on the line. With Harden on the bench and the game tied at 85 with 6:49 to play, the script was already written. He came in for Paul with 6:07 to play and the Rockets up a point, and promptly scored on a driving layup. He stole the ball and then scored on a driving floater. After a Capela block, he scored on a driving layup. By the time he knocked down a 3-pointer with 4:27 left, the Rockets’ lead was back up to eight points, 94-86, and it was clear that Harden was going to do whatever it took — scoring, playmaking and even defending — to keep Game 1 from going awry. more at the link
Until Jimmy went down this was the 3rd seed all season long. One extra win here or there and they still would be. OKC was one loss from the 8th seed or out of the playoffs. No, this is not a normal year. Thankfully, we are not a normal team.
