For people who were confused by the rotations that the Rockets were running tonight, I’ve made a handy comparison chart:
Danuel House = James Harden
Chris Clemons = Russell Westbrook
Isaiah Hartenstein = Clint Capela
Austin Rivers = Austin Rivers
Personally, I watched this game pretending that the Rockets’ big three listed in that chart (plus James Harden) were actually playing, that they just looked a little different. That Harden shaved off his beard, Westbrook grew out his hair, and Capela underwent some drastic Sammy Sosa-esque bleaching treatment. It was great! I wasn’t perturbed at all, though I did notice a bit of a dip in play quality.
House, for example, didn’t do NEARLY enough isoing and jab-stepping to make me really think it was Harden on the court unless I really unfocused my eyes and barely paid attention to the game. 22 points is a good point total for House were he not attempting to emulate Harden, but it falls 50 percent short of a true Harden performance.