NBA Playoffs: 3 reasons why Houston Rockets are only a first-round elimination team

When the Houston Rockets pulled off a four-team, 12-player trade trade to take center Clint Capela out of the picture and bring Robert Covington in, their intention to concentrate on riding a smaller lineup was evident. Bringing in the added bonus of knocking down threes and playing solid perimeter defense, Covington was the first piece of the puzzle for the Rockets drifting away from their traditional rotation.

Moreover, the franchise signed Jeff Green to a 10-day contract and forward DeMarre Carroll to a veteran minimum deal, looking to force the issue even further. Their desperation to outrun the rest of the ball clubs has been no secret of late. Coach Mike D'Antoni has pulled out all the stops for his latest brainchild - Houston's small-ball lineup - to work.

Let's dive in deeper to analyse why this attempt to nullify any possible talent disparities might end up being a failure:

#1 For small ball to work, James Harden will have to play more defense than he ever has

Harden is averaging 1.7 steals per game this season.

James Harden has often been mocked for his lackadaisical defense. Despite the Beard clocking over 2.2 steals per game in the playoffs through the last two seasons, the Rockets have failed to get past their imaginary threshold. And with the current length of the Houston's go-to lineup, he'll have to do even more.

Harden spent 11.2% of his defensive time guarding centers last year. That number has gone down to 7.6% this season. As far as post up possessions are concerned, Harden's 0.55 points per possession is tied for the fourth-lowest in the league (with at least 20 post up possessions).

Despite easily averaging 30+ ppg across the last three regular seasons, Harden could barely manage to maintain that same scoring rate in the playoffs. Asking more of him on both ends of the floor in the postseason has historically been proven to be a bad idea.

#2 Houston's lack of a bona fide center will result in matchup problems

PJ Tucker is the makeshift center for Houston right now

Houston would likely be heading into the playoffs as a fifth seed who are without a traditional center. That does not sound like the description of would-be NBA champions.

For now, D'Antonio is putting his trust in 6'5" PJ Tucker to take care of the center spot and guard bigs like Rudy Gobert and Anthony Davis when the bell rings. Although PJ has defended centers for 13.3% of his defensive matchup time this year so far, the playoffs are projected to pose a whole different set of hurdles.

The Western Conference leaders in the Los Angeles Lakers host legit tall and talented bigs in JaVale McGee, Dwight Howard, Anthony Davis and LeBron James. The Rockets just haven't fortified their rear end enough to make it big in the postseason, when adversity hits.

It would be a ridiculous exaggeration to use their recent wins as justified arguments for playoff success. Their current defensive rating (110.0) is not even top 10 in the league; the offensive-minded Rockets would be gunning to outscore teams as they have in the past, which would be considerably tougher in the playoffs.

#3 Coach Mike D'Antoni is trying to pull off a Warriors lineup without adequate personnel

D'Antoni won the 'Coach of the Year' award in 2017.

Mike D'Antoni has always laid emphasis on scoring, and his well-backed offensive system is one of the reasons why Harden's 35+ ppg still doesn't garner the respect it should.

Although modeled on what the Golden State Warriors tried back in 2015 and 2016 with Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, Houston's small-ball lineup has been a dysfunctional replica so far.

While the Warriors had veteran center Andrew Bogut on their roster, their small-ball rotation was not as extreme as what Houston are trying to pull off right now. The Rockets are basically playing guys with small-forward lengths along with a bunch of three-point shooting wings.

The Warriors on the other hand had two of the greatest three-point shooters to ever live, and one of them was a lockdown defender on any position.

The aforementioned arguments and more suggest that Houston are throwing up a prayer. That is highly unlikely to be sustainable against powerhouses like the Lakers, the Bucks or even the Raptors for that matter.