Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
The Houston Rockets may just be a single game away from being eliminated from the first round of the NBA playoffs, but that hasn’t killed the team’s confidence heading into Monday’s Game 4.
Oklahoma City has a chance to deliver the knockout blow at the Toyota Center tonight, but star guard James Harden still believes in his team.
“We have all the confidence,” Harden told Ultimate Rockets. “We’re capable of beating this team. We let two games get away from us.”
Considering no team in NBA history has fought back from a 0-3 series deficit, don’t expect this young Rockets outfit to break the trend.
“That’s cool, but eventually someone’s going to do it,” forward Chandler Parsons said of the waiting-to-be-had playoff achievement. “Somebody’s going to win. We have a perfect opportunity to shock the world.
“We’re very confident,” he said. “Going forward, we still think we can win the series. It’s frustrating. It’s difficult from last night. But we have to put that behind us. It’s win or go home. This is it. Everything we’ve worked for all season long — every practice, every shootaround — it all comes down to tomorrow night. Once we win tomorrow night, it’s on to the next game. They have to beat us four times. They beat us three times. It’s not over yet.”
The Rockets don’t seem like a team capable of making history, but they may be at least able to steal a game at home. Delaying the inevitable series loss would be the perfect way to end a surprisingly successful 2012-13 season, but even that seems likely to be a stretch at this point.
Jeremy Lin was awful in Game 3, banged up yet still given the start, and now James Harden appears to have some minor injury concerns of his own. Production is going to have to come from somewhere, however, coach Kevin McHale doesn’t have faith in one-time star Aaron Brooks.
Brooks led Houston to some nice wins as a Rockets’ member from 2007-11, but has registered double-digit minutes once since the end of February after joining the team mid-season.
With their backs against the wall and the injuries piling up, a surprise move is needed. Maybe it involves extended minutes for Brooks, a guy just three seasons (including a lockout stint in China) removed from averaging roughly 20 points and five assists per game.
Robert White covers the Houston Rockets for Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter @RobertWhitebrrr.
