The Dream Shake - Rockets beat Blazers 110-95 behind superstar showing from James HardenThe best footwork on the Internethttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/34031/32x32.png2014-12-22T22:50:05-06:00http://www.thedreamshake.com/rss/stream/72035142014-12-22T22:50:05-06:002014-12-22T22:50:05-06:00Harden goes ballistic, Rockets thump Blazers
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<p>There was no stopping the Beard tonight</p> <p>Oh man, was that glorious.</p>
<p><span>James Harden</span> made his strongest case for MVP yet. <span>Corey Brewer</span> debuted and was basically the platonic ideal of Corey Brewer, Missing Ingredient. He was electric.</p>
<p>The Blazers came in to much fanfare and were brushed aside. They were missing LaMarcus Aldrige, who was sick, and <span>Robin Lopez</span>, who is injured. But they still had <span>Damian Lillard</span>, <span>Wesley Matthews</span>, <span>Nicolas Batum</span> and bizarro <span>Meyers Leonard</span>, who is now a deadeye three-point shooter. No, this was not as great a win as it could have been (and the crowd was kinda dead in the second half when the game was by no means out of reach.</p>
<p>But the story of this game was Harden. He scored 44 points, and could have scored 50 if the game had been close. He scored 31 points in the first half on 10-17 shooting, and finished it with this ridiculous bit of magic:</p>
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<p>He had 5 assists and 5 steals at the break. No one else has done that this season in <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/ESPNStatsInfo/status/547215198072082432">a whole game</a>. He was playing terrific defense outside of a team-wide cold start (we're not going to talk about that trend tonight). His shooting stroke, which has been off all year, despite his overall brilliance, had returned.</p>
<p>He finished with 44 points, 7 assists, 5 steals, 3 rebounds on 14-26 shooting, 4-9 from deep, and 11/12 from the line (I can't help myself: Kobe scored 25 points on 30 shots last night). He just submitted another performance worthy of an MVP.</p>
<p>In fact, the only thing that has appeared to be able to stop Harden is fatigue. But <a target="_blank" href="http://www.thedreamshake.com/2014/12/19/7424735/rockets-trade-corey-brewer-alexey-shved">reinforcements are here</a>.</p>
<p>Corey Brewer scored 15 points on 5-10 shooting (2-4 from deep! Corner threes!) with 5 steals of his own, 4 rebounds and 4 assists. The fast break attack exploded with him on the floor. He, Beverley and Harden were <i>flying </i>around the perimeter on defense, poking away balls all over the floor.</p>
<p>They hounded Lillard -- if we say his name, that means we no longer <a target="_blank" href="http://www.thedreamshake.com/2014/12/22/7428111/houston-rockets-vs-portland-trail-blazers-game-preview">fear his wrath</a> -- into 6 turnovers, with 14 steals as a team. Lillard shoved Pat Beverley for an offensive foul in the second half. Matthews got a technical and a flagrant foul. These teams do not like each other, but the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.thedreamshake.com/">Rockets</a> kept their cool, largely, and played as a team.</p>
<p><span>Alexey Shved</span>, the other new Rocket, didn't make an impression in the first half, but acquitted himself nicely in garbage time. Donuts had 10 points and 8 rebounds, happily ceding some of the interior scoring burden back to Howard, who scored 16, grabbed 13 rebounds and didn't bother guarding Meyers Leonard out to the three-point line, preferring instead to patrol the paint to great effect.</p>
<p>Lillard had 18 points on 6-16 shooting, <span>C.J. McCollum</span> was effective against <span>Jason Terry</span> and Alexey Shved for 17 points but there was no point in the second half that the Blazers were within double-digits. It was great.</p>
<p>The Rockets have three days off before playing on Friday at Memphis, in San Antonio on Sunday and at home against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.bulletsforever.com/">Wizards</a> on Monday. I'll leave you with three numbers: 31, 32 and 31.</p>
<p>Those were the minutes last night by Harden, Howard and Ariza. Brewer and <span>Kostas Papanikolaou</span> off the bench gave the Rockets 39 combined minutes at the 3 and 4, allowing Motiejunas to serve as the center of the reserve unit (<span>Joey Dorsey</span> played 8 minutes, <span>Tarik Black</span> less than 4) and are three most-taxed starters to get extra breathers tonight. This is the most crucial part of that deal (and a potential <span>Josh Smith</span> signing).</p>
<p>The Rockets may get less time with two of the 10 best players in the league on the floor, but the time they do play will be dominant, and a competent bench ensures leads like tonight's grow. That's what championship teams do, and the Rockets are looking more and more like one of those.</p>
https://www.thedreamshake.com/2014/12/22/7439399/rockets-blazers-final-score-harden-unstoppableEthan Rothstein2014-12-22T20:23:34-06:002014-12-22T20:23:34-06:00James Harden is absolutely ridiculous<iframe class="vine-embed" src="https://vine.co/v/OXUB1EWpigL/embed/simple" width="600" height="600"></iframe>
<div class="source source-img"><p><p>31 points at half. He cannot be stopped.</p></p></div>
https://www.thedreamshake.com/2014/12/22/7438933/james-harden-is-absolutely-ridiculousEthan Rothstein2014-12-22T19:57:53-06:002014-12-22T19:57:53-06:00Dwight Howard finishes a monster 1-handed alley-oop<iframe class="vine-embed" src="https://vine.co/v/OXF2QggaOzW/embed/simple" width="600" height="600"></iframe>
<div class="source source-img"><p><p>It's SO nice to see Dwight Howard back on the floor, especially when he's reaching up to finish sick one-handed alley-oops like this.</p></p></div>
https://www.thedreamshake.com/2014/12/22/7438865/dwight-howard-finishes-a-monster-1-handed-alley-oopDrew Garrison2014-12-22T00:00:02-06:002014-12-22T00:00:02-06:00Rockets-Blazers game preview feat. Harry Potter
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<figcaption>Voldemort's Death Eaters rush to serve him. | Craig Mitchelldyer-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>The Rockets welcome the Trail Blazers to the Toyota Center for the first time since Portland beat them in the first round of last year's playoffs. </p> <p>Time for some real talk: In early May, things weren't quite going well for me. School had thrown me a curveball that would set me back, a few things beyond my control happened, and I was pretty depressed. Then that shot happened.</p>
<p>I've never been silly enough to define myself by my sports fandom, but like most sports fans I was living and dying by Houston's playoff series. Winning gave me 24 hours of happiness followed by worry over the next game. Losing gave me 48 hours of sadness, depression, and anger (mostly at referees).</p>
<p>After the 2011 Finals, LeBron said he couldn't watch television for months because he would be watching a cooking show and they would say, "Here's how to make an omelette and LeBron choked in the Finals!" Well, that's how things were after that playoff series. "And the Red Sox drop another game, but at least they didn't lose in the heartbreaking fashion that the <a href="https://www.thedreamshake.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Rockets</a> did!" (Cue highlights of shot played 100 times in a row).</p>
<p>I know Portland will love that shot forever. Good for them. It will haunt me forever.</p>
<p>I didn't watch a second of basketball in the second round except to see Portland lose. I didn't watch the East or West Finals. I barely watched the Finals. It was too painful, because even when Portland wasn't playing the announcers found any way they could to remind me about it or show it. I couldn't watch ESPN for months. Everywhere I went, there it was. I see <span>Chandler Parsons</span>' outstretched arm in my mind as clearly as if it was happening in front of me right now.</p>
<p>I didn't want to talk about it. I didn't want to to name any of the players on the Blazers, especially You-Know-Who. I called him Point Guard #0 like an NCAA game. On a podcast, Mike joked that he was my Voldemort. The name stuck, and that's what I've called him ever since. Eventually, I got the idea to make this a Harry Potter-themed preview. So, it's The Order of the Phoenix vs. The Death Eaters.</p>
<p>In a perfect world, the Order would face off against the Death Eaters after a week off, like in football. Voldemort's crew would be coming off their fifth game in four nights and would have played a noon game today as well. But you can't determine how the Battle of Hogwarts goes down. You can only try to win.</p>
<p><b>Tip off is at 7pm CST</b></p>
<p><b></b>Matchups:</p>
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<p><b>Point Guard: Albus Dumbledore vs. Voldemort</b></p>
<p>He's Voldemort. No question. I'm too terrified to say his real name lest he turn his wrath upon me again. Voldemort had 7 horcruxes. The Blazers have 6 losses. Dare I say that a loss could be his ultimate undoing? No, I don't dare.</p>
<p>The only positive thing here is that <span>Patrick Beverley</span> played through a knee injury and never looked like the Bev that we've come to expect on defense. He's the Rockets' leader on defense and is the heart and soul of this squad with what he bring in terms of intensity, determination, and grit.</p>
<p>In the Order, Dumbledore was the leader and the only one that Voldemort ever feared. The Rockets will have to hope that Beverley can partially stop Voldemort, who's been going absolutely bonkers in anticipation for this game. These two have faced off multiple times before, but none were as good as this fight (mostly because J.K Rowling couldn't write a fight scene to save her life).</p>
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<p>Advantage: <b>Death Eaters</b></p>
<p><b>Shooting Guard: Neville Longbottom vs. Peter Pettigrew</b></p>
<p><span>James Harden</span> and Neville Longbottom have much in common: ridiculed, soft-spoken, and disliked outside their social circles. The fear is that if this game is close late, Harden won't be able to match Voldemort punch-for-punch. He's been in big situations and performed, but this is another level against the man who always seems to come out on top. It's one thing to beat the Professor Quirrells of the world*. It's another thing entirely to take on the Dark Lord himself. In the final film, Neville does stand up to Voldemort and the entirety of the Death Eaters. A similar defiance by Harden against Voldemort's tyranny tonight could make him a hero.</p>
<p>Many Blazers fans are good people at heart. Like Peter Pettigrew, they started off as kind folks but were eventually turned to the dark side by Voldemort. <span>Wesley Matthews</span> was a likable player in his first couple of years (after he got the <a href="https://www.slcdunk.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Jazz</a> stink off of him), but recently has turned into a nuisance much as Peter did. Nevertheless, you can't discount his importance to the resurrection of the Blazers' contendership. He does the dirty work and is willing to sacrifice his body to help the team win. Likewise, Wormtail was willing to sacrifice his hand to resurrect his master.</p>
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<p>*Yes, I know Neville didn't beat Quirrell but his actions preceding the fight won the House Cup for Gryffindor so I'm counting it. Never question my Harry Potter knowledge again.</p>
<p>Advantage: <b>Order of the Phoenix</b></p>
<p><b>Small Forward: Severus Snape vs. Severus Snape</b></p>
<p>A3za vs. Batumshakalaka.</p>
<p>Two players with similar skill sets. Both are great wing defenders who can be streaky from distance. Both have been run into the ground at times by coaches unable to find suitable replacements.</p>
<p>Both Ariza and Batum have been traded from the Rockets. Snape came back the Death Eaters, but he was always Order to the end.</p>
<p>Oddly enough, Severus Snape has easily become one of the most beloved characters in the Harry Potter series. The Blazers love their Snape, but Rockets fans still have reservations about their version on offense. But if there's one thing that Snape can do, it's defend with all his heart.</p>
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<p>Quick note: Potter Puppet Pals are not allowed here. That's some of the most annoying drivel on the net today.</p>
<p>Advantage:<b> Even</b></p>
<p><b>Power Forward: Molly Weasley vs. </b><b>Bellatrix Lestrange</b></p>
<p>Bellatrix is especially dark at heart. <span>LaMarcus Aldridge</span> found ways to use that darkness to his personal gain in the first two games of the playoff series, fooling referees into thinking that <span>Omer Asik</span> was not allowed near him. His Imperius Curses eventually wore off and when <span>Tiago Splitter</span> applied the same pressure that Asik had tried, LMA was unable to get the referees to give him a force field. Should LMA try his tricks again so soon after suspected Death Eater Tony Brothers screwed the Rockets two nights ago, a riot by the Toyota Center's Order supporters is inevitable.</p>
<p>Donatas Motiejunas: unassuming player that's full of spunk and creativity. Molly Weasley ran her household in an orderly way, much as D-Mo has run the paint in recent games for the Rockets. For years we suspected that Molly Weasley was just a chatty housewife, but like D-Mo when she showed up, she really showed up.</p>
<p>Case in point: unlike other matchups, we can look at how this one played out. If you've read the books, you know that this video has a single swear word said with such vehemence that even I cowered before it.</p>
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<p>Oddly, I'm somehow still putting LMA ahead of D-Mo here. Because I'm not stupid.</p>
<p>Advantage:<b> Death Eaters</b></p>
<p><b>Center: Fred & George Weasley vs. Barty Crouch, Jr.</b></p>
<p>Of these 3 men, one is dead, another is without a soul, and the third has only one ear. <span>Robin Lopez</span> doesn't really fit in there, but since he's out we'll call his replacement Crouch. I really like the idea of Lopez being Alecto Carrow though.</p>
<p>Calling Dwight Howard the Weasley twins was fairly easy. They like to have a good time but get serious when the moment calls for it. The were two of the earliest members of Dumbledore's Army. The Weasleys put themselves in the line of fire for their friends and family time and time again. Dwight has proven that he's grown close with this team and <a href="http://allball.blogs.nba.com/2014/12/09/the-houston-rockets-celebrate-dwight-howards-birthday/" target="_blank">you can't deny the family atmosphere</a>.</p>
<p>The Rockets need Dwight to step up one more time. With Carrow/Crouch out of the way, this is George Weasley's time to shine. Really, we need Dwight to be saint-like.</p>
<p><iframe frameborder="0" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/lS8lobgcYK8" height="315" width="560"></iframe></p>
<p>Advantage: <b>Order of the Phoenix</b></p>
<p><b>Bench</b></p>
<p>Order: Kingsley Shacklebolt (<span>Corey Brewer</span>), Arthur Weasley, Minerva McGonagall, Rubeus Hagrid (this has to be <span>Joey Dorsey</span>), Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger (if they can be torn from their snogging)</p>
<p><span></span>Death Eaters: Draco Malfoy (if you don't think <span>Steve Blake</span> is Malfoy then you are wrong about everything), Avery, Dolohov, Crabbe (they actually have <span>Allen Crabbe</span> on their team), Goyle (<span>Chris Kaman</span> for sure), Yaxley, Fenrir Greyback; Alecto Carrow is injured</p>
<p>Advantage: <b>Death Eaters</b></p>
<p><b>Prediction: We know how the Battle of Hogwarts ended. All we can is hope that this battle ends in similar fashion. </b></p>
<p><span>Trail Blazers vs Rockets coverage</span></p>
<p><a href="http://www.blazersedge.com/">Blazer's Edge</a></p>
<p>One last serious note for Blazers fans that are coming here: We would love to talk about this game since it is what is happening tonight. It is not May 2, so any gloating about that day will be met harshly. Any attempts to put a gif, picture, or video of you-know-what will be seen as trolling. Your comments will be deleted and you will receive a warning. I don't like to do this, but last year we had a huge influx of trolling Blazers fans throughout the series and I won't let our readership be taunted. We all have internet access. We can look things up if we want. Stay civil. That goes for everyone, including TDS readers. We're big on discussion and this game is what should be discussed. You have all been warned.</p>
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https://www.thedreamshake.com/2014/12/22/7428111/houston-rockets-vs-portland-trail-blazers-game-previewArmin Khansari