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The Houston Rockets have been eliminated by the Golden State Warriors for the 4th time in the past five seasons. This time around, the Warriors did not have Kevin Durant.
Durant left Game 5 with a calf strain in the 3rd quarter, and was ruled out for Game 6. Unfortunately, the Rockets were unable to take advantage of Durant's absence, losing Game 5, and Stephen Curry not scoring at all in the 1st half of Game 6.
This is gut-wrenching for the Rockets. It's not a good look for them, in addition to James Harden disappearing again when it mattered most.
What's next for the Houston Rockets? Chris Paul is on the decline, but it is unlikely that Paul will be moved because he got a massive contract last off-season and Harden is the franchise at this point.
Mike D'Antoni should be replaced with Tyronn Lue because D'Antoni has a ceiling. He's always great on offense, but a liability defensively. D'Antoni has a lack of attention to detail. In Game 7 of last years Western Conference Finals, the Rockets had a 15 point lead but continued to fire up three's.
The Rockets missed an NBA record, 27 straight three-point attempts. When players are missing shots for a long stretch, it's up to the head coach to make adjustments. D'Antoni failed to adapt to the situation and close and ultimately lost the series. They also had a double-digit lead in Game 6, so the loss of Chris Paul was not really impactful to the team. Mike D' Antoni can produce MVP players such as James Harden and Steve Nash but is unable to produce championships as a head coach.
Lue has won championships as a player and coach. He won a championship for the dysfunctional Cleveland Cavaliers. Lue can bolster the Houston Rockets defense more and should be able to change the iso-ball style by getting more out of the rest of the players on the Rockets roster. If the Rockets hire Lue, it's poss that he would try to find a way to get Lebron to Houston. Daryl Morey is an aggressive General Manager who is not afraid to roll the dice. So do not be surprised if Morey makes a coaching change.
