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

#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.