Houston Rockets and Sam Dekker Crash Hard
Needing a win at home to force a decisive seventh game, the Houston Rockets fell apart.
The Houston Rockets were hammered 114-75 in Game 6 of the Western Conference Semifinals on their home floor. Houston lost in overtime in the previous game giving San Antonio a 3-2 series edge. But the Rockets had Game 6 at home and the Spurs were without their best player Kawhi Leonard.
Houston made just 22 FGs on the night (San Antonio made 51 FGs), shooting 28.6 percent from the floor and only mustering 11 points in the final quarter. The Rockets had 13 turnovers (six courtesy of James Harden) to 14 assists while getting out rebounded 60-37. Houston star and league MVP candidate James Harden had just 10 points on 2-11 shooting before fouling out.
Houston forward and former Badger Sam Dekker played 10 minutes, scoring six points on 2-6 shooting while grabbing two rebounds.
Dekker missed nearly a month of action with a broken hand. He was out the final five games of the regular season and missed the first round playoff series against Russell Westbrook.
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During the regular season, Dekker averaged 18.4 minutes, 6.5 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 1 assist per game. He shot an impressive 47.3 percent from the floor a surprisingly robust figure overall considering he shot just 32.4 percent from three and only 55.9 percent at the foul line. Those last two numbers suggest something mechanical needs to change in his shooting motion but inside the arc he is doing fine in the run of play.
It has been a frustrating start to his professional career for Dekker who only played in three games during his rookie season in 2015-16 thanks to a back injury. Frankly, Houston is simply not the best fit for him. Dekker needs to play with a pass-minded point guard who can free him for high percentage looks on slips to the basket. Dekker got some easy/cheap points at Wisconsin by smart movement off the ball. He isn’t going to do that in Houston with James Harden dominating the ball.
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Not tonight, but Harden is one of the best pure scorers in the NBA and has averaged 18.9 shots per game over the last three seasons. This season Harden had gaudy assist totals this season but it’s often from his dribble drives on kick outs which is not the strength of Dekker’s game. He needs to attack the rim not settle for outside jumpers.
A team like the LA Clippers would be a nice fit for Dekker. Chris Paul was just 58th in the NBA in FGA per game but 4th in assists. He would do well playing off the ball in LAC on offense and in front of a great rim protector like Deandre Jordan on the defensive end.
San Antonio advances to face a rested Golden State team in the Western Conference Finals. Sam Dekker and the Rockets look to the offseason to retool. The Rockets do not have a first round pick in the 2017 NBA draft but do have a pair of second rounders. Dekker has another year on his rookie deal before the Rockets have to decide if they want to exercise a club option on him come the 2018 offseason.