Houston Rockets Flash Forming Identity by Getting Under LeBron James' Skin

HOUSTON — There had already been enough anger on this afternoon—anger about not getting calls from the officials, about getting his groin kicked by an opponent. 

Now, though, with his own feet in ice and his head still smoking, LeBron James redirected the anger away from whatever referee Danny Crawford didn't do, saying "the refs had nothing to do with" the Cleveland Cavaliers' 105-103 overtime loss to the rolling Houston Rockets.

James also didn't dwell on what Houston's James Harden did, even while characterizing the MVP candidate's kick to a sensitive area as "not a basketball play, and obviously the league will probably take a look at it. I have no idea why he would do that, but two competitors just trying to go at it."

No, James directed his anger inward, even after scoring 37 points—four more than Harden did for Houston—including a three-pointer that cut the Rockets' lead to one with 43.5 seconds left in overtime.

On this occasion, James needed to score 39.

Or, at the least, 38.

Instead, after a smart, decisive drive to the rim, he stood at the free-throw line with 4.2 seconds left.

He stood there with the recognition that "I was off rhythm all game." He didn't shoot a free throw until the third quarter, and he missed six of his first nine.

The first, short and left.

The second, shanked right.

"I didn't come through for my teammates tonight," James said. "I tricked the game up at the free-throw line. The guys put us in position to win the game, and I didn't come through for them. It won't happen again."

It may or may not, considering his history at the line, which won't be a prominent part of James' presentation when he gives his Hall of Fame speech.

LeBron seems capable of achieving whatever he imagines, but he's spent his career fiddling with his form and his feel at the free-throw line, and he'll likely never reach the goal he's set for himself.

James has always targeted 80 percent from the line. That would seem so much easier than shooting 50 percent from the field, considering how many bodies and bumps he must fight through in live action. But he's never quite gotten there, maxing out at 78 percent in 2008-09. He was a shade under 73 percent on the year heading into Sunday's game.

He has also seemed to miss more when it matters, either for an outcome or just an individual achievement (such as falling a point short of 50 in a 2014 playoff win over the Brooklyn Nets), though that could be an errant perception.

He entered Sunday's game having made 10 of 11 free throws this season in so-called "clutch situations" (differential of five or fewer points with five or fewer minutes left) and shot 73.2 percent (60-of-82) in those circumstances while with the Heat.

Still, that will likely be the takeaway out of Sunday's game—that James shriveled when it mattered most—since it's the simple and profitable storyline to recycle.

But James didn't help himself—in terms of turning down that never-ending narrative—when he emoted on Twitter shortly after the interview session:

The accountability is admirable and not especially unusual. He has done this on occasion, whether it was tweeting this in the wee hours during a difficult 2011 NBA Finals, or this after passing on a last-second shot in Utah in 2012.

But it should really be treated as a sidelight, in part because James willed the Cavaliers into position in the end. He defended Harden ferociously while carrying the offense with Kyrie Irving (shoulder) out.

And, in part, because there were more interesting elements of this game, ones that may have longer-term implications. That's assuming, of course, James doesn't permanently turn into DeAndre Jordan, Dwight Howard or Rajon Rondo at the line, which seems like a safe enough bet. 

This contest told us a little more about the Cavaliers, who mostly maintained their composure while encountering some chippy play. James ultimately collected himself after some sequences in which it seemed he was trying to settle scores.

They've collectively had more of an edge since acquiring Timofey Mozgov, J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert, and that showed again, even if it was Smith who held Mozgov back from a confrontation with Trevor Ariza on Sunday.

The Cavs have also received more consistent contributions from complementary pieces, so they should have hope that some of what happened Sunday was anomalous.

Tristan Thompson did what he does best by hauling in 11 offensive rebounds against Houston's front line, but Smith and Shumpert missed 14 of 17 shots in 75 combined minutes. Plug-in point guard Matthew Dellavedova was frequently overmatched (making just one shot in 42 minutes), and Kevin Love, after 21 points in the first three quarters, did not score on three attempts in the fourth quarter and overtime.

That left James, angry and energized, as the team's lone serious offensive threat. And that led to too much ball-pounding and too many fallaways, even if he sank a few.

It was evident again that the Cavaliers, so thin at point guard after coming up empty trying to obtain one, can't afford Irving to miss a single game in the postseason. While the disparity has lessened some since early in the season, James still shoots 6.9 percentage points higher from the field when Irving plays alongside him.

Though the Rockets won't get as much attention in victory as James in defeat, this game actually said more about them, where they are, what they are and where they might be going.

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Where are the Rockets?

They're in the third spot in the wild Western Conference after sweeping a five-game homestand.

They're just 1.5 games out of the second spot, even while playing without interior defensive anchor Dwight Howard for 27 games, winning 19 of them. They've done great work just to remain one of the West's upper-class teams.

They've done so by getting strong performances from less heralded players (Terrence Jones, after returning from injury, averaged 17.0 points and 10.2 rebounds during the homestand) and by digging in on the defensive end.

"Our confidence is building defensively," Ariza said. "Sometimes, you can fall in love with one aspect of the game and not care about everything else. But I think everybody is starting to realize you have to play on both sides of the ball."

Who are the Rockets?

World-class irritants.

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That's a worthy identity. And it's one they wear well, as they wear increasingly thin on opponents.

James isn't so easy to shake off his game these days—not even for a few possessions, not after years of refining his restraint.

Yet the Rockets did so at times Sunday, largely with Ariza (with his ball denials), Harden (by going below the belt) and Patrick Beverley (a friend of James, who still managed to annoy the four-time MVP enough to receipt an uncharacteristic shove during a floor scuffle). 

Houston seems comfortable wearing the black hat, even if the one Harden wore to and from the arena had his coach, Kevin McHale, calling him a "pilgrim." Harden compared the game to "streetball," and said he enjoyed it, "since you grow up playing the game like that."

He called his kick of James, whom he called "a very good friend," just "a reaction."

"They called a flagrant, and the next play, they moved on," Harden said.

The NBA, which suspended Dwyane Wade for something similar in 2012, might not move on. That means Harden might miss Tuesday's showdown in Atlanta with the Hawks. Still, those on the floor for Houston will scrap, because that's what they have done all season. The team's oldest player, Jason Terry—whose irritant identity is unquestioned—certainly would expect no less.

How have the Rockets hung in?

"There's three things," Terry said. "The No. 1 thing is, James Harden is playing at an unbelievably high level, and he raises the level of everyone else. Two, we have a coaching staff that understands that it's a next-man-up-type syndrome, so they've preached that to us the whole season, and guys have bought in. The third thing is the supporting cast around them. It's not just a Dwight- and James-type show."

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Terry noted that three supporting veterans have won titles, but no one's lost their edge.

"From top to bottom, guys are playing like they have something to prove," Terry said. "Though I've won a championship, I'm searching for that second one. I'm trying to reach that level of greatness with a different franchise, and a lot of guys don't get that opportunity.

"Patrick Beverley, he's a guy who was in Russia somewhere playing, so he plays with that edge. James, he was the third wheel in Oklahoma. Now he has his own team, his own opportunity, a lot to prove." 

And there's no shame about being seen in a negative light at times. "I've always played the villain role, and I love it," said Terry, who did get his comeuppance from James once, as a victim of one of his most fearsome slams back in March 2013.

"One thing it does to you, it gives you that edge," Terry said. "But at the same time, knowing that you can get under another team's skin is an added advantage."

Even so, it's true that James still had the advantage Sunday with 4.2 seconds left in overtime and no Rockets in his face.

Just the rim, just 15 feet away. Make one, a tie. Make two, possibly a win. Miss both, get the blame. 

Even from himself. 

"I'll take it," Rockets forward Josh Smith said of James' late misses. "I'll take it. Normally he knocks those down. But the game is imperfect. It's not meant for you to play a perfect game."

It's not. So James must settle for playing a pretty good one that wasn't quite good enough, against what looks, even without Howard, like a very good team.