5 Reasons behind Houston Rockets dramatic downfall in the 2020-21 NBA Season
From championship contenders to one of the worst teams, Houston Rockets have seen it all in the 2020-21 NBA Season. Early in the season, James Harden was the most talked about player in the league as Houston Rockets did their best to keep their superstars. Since then, they haven't looked the same.
The new-look Houston Rockets have become almost unwatchable now. They currently sit 14th in the Western Conference with 14-39 record so far. In this article, we take a look at reasons which have led to this drastic downfall for the Houston Rockets.
#1 The lost Synergy between the Front Office and James Harden
The Houston Rockets did everything James Harden wanted. Over the last few years, the franchise did everything in order to keep their superstar happy. It started with the arrival of Chris Paul, who was brought in to help James get the team to the ultimate prize.
The duo started off well together but were knocked out by the Golden State Warriors in Game 5 of the 2018 Western Conference Finals. Eventually reports indicated that tensions were running high between James Harden and CP3, which led to the latter being offloaded to OKC in return for Russell Westbrook. But even this star studded duo couldn't take the Houston Rockets to the promise land.
Some reports suggested that James Harden was often late for team events. Even though the franchise did everything they could to keep Harden, eventually it wasn't enough as they failed to win a championship.
After the 2019-2020 NBA Season, the front-office went in a different direction. They got rid of Mike D'Antoni and Daryl Morey and hired a new Head Coach and a new GM in Stephen Silas and Raphael Stone respectively. But these changes were not inspiring for James Harden to keep pushing for a championship with Houston Rockets. He wanted to get out and on 14th January, the move to the Brooklyn Nets was confirmed.
#2 The lack of chemistry between John Wall, Victor Oladipo and Christian Wood
After the Harden trade, Houston Rockets went on a six-game winning streak. It seemed they had found a new source of life in the new trio of John Wall, Victor Oladipo and Christian Wood. Unfortunately, injuries prevented the three from getting much playing time together.
In total, the 3 were together on the court for just 5 games. In general, this season Houston Rockets have struggled greatly due to injuries to key players. At times, with Covid-19 protocols, they even have struggled to make available a 10 member roster
Both Victor Oladipo and John Wall are former All-Stars and many Houston Rockets fans had high expectations from the duo. However, after going on a string 20 straight defeats, it was clear that this experiment wasn't going to work.
#3 Houston Rockets traded 2 All-Stars for nothing
So what did Houston Rockets receive for James Harden?
They got Caris LeVert, Jarrett Allen and a whole bunch of draft picks from the Brooklyn Nets. But the Rockets traded Caris LeVert to Indiana Pacers for Victor Oladipo and Jarrett Allen to Cleveland Cavaliers.
In hindsight, Houston Rockets would have much rather preferred to have kept Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert. Given the fact that Oladipo is coming off a career-thretening injury plus he was never interested in going to Houston, keeping LeVert should have been a no-brainer.
Eventually the Houston Rockets were forced to move Victor Oladipo on deadline day. There were reports that Tyler Herro or Duncan Robinson might be part of the package coming back but that was not to be. In the end, the Rockets received Kelly Olynyk, Avery Bradley and 2022 first round swap rights.
Over the past 3 months, Houston Rockets have had a number of players going through their them but none even close to the quality of James Harden. There only hope now lies in the multiple draft picks that they have acquired during this time.
#4 First-time head coach plus inability to close out games
If you want to know how hard it is to coach in the NBA, ask Stephen Silas. It's his first season as a Head Coach and it's already been quite a roller coaster ride. When he signed with the Houston Rockets, he would have been preparing to coach Russell Westbrook and James Harden.
But very soon into his tenure, Silas received a major jolt, when both Westbrook and Harden requested a trade out of Houston. Eventually, the 48-year-old lost both his superstars and was left with a roster loaded with injured players, who hardly had any chemistry between them to begin with.
Overall, Houston Rockets have played well up to the 3rd quarter but have struggled almost in every game to finish of strong. John Wall, who is defacto leader of the franchise right now, is great at getting to the rim but isn't so effective from the range. His inability to make late perimeter has resulted in multiple uncomfortable situations for the Rockets.
#5 Tanking for a Top 4 protected pick
2021 Draft is deep. Cade Cunningham is the No. 1 projected draft pick. Followed by Evan Mobley and Jalen Suggs. When the season started, Houston Rockets would have never imagined that they would be in this situation. However, under current circumstances, going for one of the top picks might be the best option left for them. If they do manage to strike gold and get a Top 3 pick, then that can definitely give them the boost next offseason to start turning things around.
Houston Rockets have a 52% chance to land a top 4 protected pick. Let's see if they can get lucky. Rockets fans desperately need this to overcome the loss of their former superstar James Harden.