Houston Rockets dismantle Spurs, take 1-0 lead

One of the playoffs series to look at for the semifinal round is the Spurs and Rockets matchup. The Rockets are looking like a well-oiled machine after making easy work of the Westbrook led Thunder, disposing of them in five games. The Spurs were pushed to seven games against the Grizzlies, but Kawhi Leonard showed up making sure they go to the next round. Many speculated about the Spurs having trouble keeping up with Mike D'Antoni's fast-paced offense. In game one, those speculations came to fruition, as the Rockets started out hot and only got hotter leaving the Spurs in the dust.

The Rockets put this game away early, beating the Spurs 126-99.

Left in the Dust

The Rockets came into the game on fire from the court. Trevor Ariza and James Harden were taking threes early and often, draining almost every one of them. The Rockets keep the ball moving against the older Spurs team, not allowing them to get comfortable in the defensive sets. Houston was given a boost by sixth man award candidates Eric Gordon and Lou Williams who also were finding their shots early and often. The Rockets blasted off to a 34-23 lead after the first quarter, and it only got bigger after that.

The Rockets hot shooting continued into the second quarter leaving the Spurs in the dust. The Spurs only scored 16 points in the second frame, getting circles ran around them on both ends of the floor.

Kawhi Leonard was the only Spur who looked like he could keep up, but he was met with double teams on almost every possession. The Rockets put on a 35-point second quarter to make their lead even larger going into halftime, leading the Spurs 69-39. The game was all but over at that point. James Harden finished with 20 points and 14 assists, resting all of the fourth quarter.

Old Spurs

The Spurs age showed against the Rockets offense and it was an eyesore, and that's being generous. The Spurs failed to get back into their defensive sets after a number of baskets, allowing the Rockets to get easy baskets on the other end. Kawhi Leonard ended the game with 21 points, but those won't easy. He faced double teams every time down the floor.

Lamarcus Aldridge was going to be a critical piece in this series, as Kawhi was going to given more attention.

Lamarcus couldn't be found this game, as he only scored four points and having a -36 in the plus/minus category. Aldridge wasn't the only one, as most of the Spurs players struggled to find their shot. The Spurs looked like they needed life alert, as their old bones were taking a beating against the Rockets. The Spurs will need to figure out how to find more offense besides Kawhi, or they will end up in the same spot as Russell Westbrook and the Thunder: enjoying the offseason earlier than expected.

The Rockets dominated the Spurs in all facets of the game, making easy work of the older Spurs.

The Spurs will need to go back to the drawing board and see what went wrong and what needs to go right in game two. James Harden and the Rockets should be happy with their performance, but shouldn't be complacent. The Spurs are the masters of adjustments and will come into game two ready to play. Catch game two on TNT at 9:30 p.m.