“Nothing Changes”: Houston Rockets’ James Harden Dismisses the Significance of Russel Westbrook

The Houston Rockets were up to a rocky start in the Orlando Bubble. As teams were flooding into the resort and resuming practices, the Rockets found themselves without two of their star players. James Harden and Russell Westbrook were expected to arrive together but only one of them came through. As it turned out, Westbrook had tested positive for the coronavirus and needed more time to recuperate.

The Rockets have gone through certain ups and downs this season. As luck would have it, Westbrook was benched because of an injury after his return. The team did not want to hamper Westbrook’s health and wanted to give him rest until the playoffs.  But with Harden back, the team managed to seal the fourth seed and made it to the playoffs. Now that things will get tougher, missing Westbrook will prove to be very disadvantageous for the team.

Houston Rockets must adapt without Russell Westbrook

At first, there were speculations that Westbrook would be back for the postseason matchup. However, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle put those speculations to rest. He reported on Wednesday that Westbrook would be missing a few of the postseason games.

The Rockets now have to work with the mindset that they won’t have Westbrook. This is quite ironic because just a year ago, they acquired Westbrook due to his durability. Another twist is that they will be facing guard Chris Paul from Oklahoma City Thunder, who they had traded in place of Westbrook.

Head coach, Mike D’Antoni will be relying on Eric Gordon, James Harden, and Austin Rivers for the most part. While Harden will work as a starter, Gordon and Rivers will act as secondary playmakers leading the bench unit. The tricky part will be the defense because teams have applied the strategy of doubling up Harden. Similarly, they also need to focus on surviving those minutes while Harden rests because Westbrook was the one leading the second unit.

Rivers even scored a career-high 41 points against the Sacramento Kings On Monday. He has been showing immense potential in filling up the void for the team.

James Harden believes nothing has changed

Harden had a different outlook on the situation altogether. He firmly believes that Westbrook’s absence doesn’t change anything for him and the team.

“For me, nothing changes no matter who’s on the court,” Harden commented via The Athletic. “My aggressive mentality no matter who’s on the floor. What’s missed is his ability to get to the basket, draw defenders in, and create opportunities for our team. Not only him but House, Eric is getting into his rhythm, P.J. didn’t play an entire game—it’s our entire group. We’re fully healthy, which we were these first few games, we’re a really dangerous team. We gotta get guys healthy and get them back on the court as soon as possible.”

In conclusion, the team’s small-ball style has worked out well so far but it is their star duo’s performance that will determine their fate in the playoffs. It is unclear as to when Westbrook will be back, but it seems likely that he will be a part of the postseason.