Rockets vs. Timberwolves: Postgame Grades and Analysis for Houston

It was the second night of a back-to-back and the Houston Rockets struggled most of the way against the Minnesota Timberwolves in an ugly 87-84 win.

After a handful of good, efficient games from James Harden and Jeremy Lin, Lin rode an ugly game most of the way but was able to make a big shot down the stretch, and Harden picked it up significantly at the end of the third and into the fourth quarter.

The Rockets weren't really hurt by a single guy; essentially, it was the whole collection of the Timberwolves' depth that really gave them fits for the duration of the game.

Apart from a good game from Alexey Shved, an inefficient, yet effective game from Kevin Love and the usual solid game from Andrei Kirilenko, the entire Timberwolves team was just able to play a more effective game than the Rockets.

If anything, it seemed like quite the hangover game for the Rockets even though they won, as they hovered around 40-percent shooting for the duration.

Point Guard: Jeremy Lin, C-

It was a rough night in Jeremy Lin's climb back to the top of Linsanity, but those are going to happen every once in a while. It's probably a good thing that it happened when everybody else was having an off night; that way, the blame for the ugly game wouldn't be placed squarely on his shoulders.

Lin did hit a game-tying shot with just a few minutes left in the game, giving the Rockets a bit of life late, so there's something positive Lin can take away from the game.

His single assist for the duration of the game definitely doesn't help out his case with his detractors—neither does the fact that he went 3-of-9 from the field.

In all, it was a bad game, but it was a bad game for most of the guys on the floor, so let's chalk it up to bad mojo in the arena.

Shooting Guard: James Harden, A-

It was a slow start for the bewhiskered guard, but he ended up putting a solid game together in the second half.

Harden finished the contest with 30 points on 11-of-22 shooting, and he was the only member of the Rockets besides Greg Smith and Omer Asik who finished with a field-goal percentage of at least .500.

There wasn't a lot of ball movement in this one from Harden, but there wasn't much ball movement from most of the players on the floor. Of course, the lack of shots falling didn't help his low assist numbers.

It was a decent game across the board, but his high scoring definitely put it over the top. He racked up six rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block to go along with his 30 points with a lot of clutch scoring mixed in.

Small Forward: Chandler Parsons, B+

The Houston Rockets needed somebody to shoot, and Chandler Parsons was the one upon which this duty fell for the majority of the first quarter and into the second.

Parsons made a handful of shots and was really the reason that the offense wasn't a complete disgrace for the majority of the first couple of quarters.

He put up 12 points on 5-of-12 shooting, with two three-pointers, five assists, six rebounds and two steals.

He was extremely active in this game and really demonstrated why everybody sees him as a terrific all-around player in the future.

Power Forward: Marcus Morris C-

Marcus Morris didn't take too many shots, but that was mostly because he wasn't making too many shots.

His 3-of-9 night wasn't what killed the Rockets, but it definitely didn't help them in the long run. 

Like the rest of the team, Morris wasn't hitting his three-pointers, missing all three of the ones he took, but he grabbed a few rebounds, doled out a couple of assists and didn't ruin the game for the Rockets.

It was a sloppy game all around, and Morris' game was no different than the rest of the squad.

Even though they ended up winning, it's probably one to forget.

Center: Omer Asik, A+

Defensively, Omer Asik was on the ball all night long. He kept guys from scoring in the paint for the duration of the game and forced the action to the outside.

The Timberwolves, who were pretty much equally bad from the perimeter and with the mid-range jumpers, hit them just a bit less frequently, especially at the end of the game.

Asik continued to be a monster on the glass, pulling down a huge 17 rebounds, winning the rebounding battle with Kevin Love.

Offensively, Asik was just fine. He didn't get too involved, but he was able to put the ball in efficiently, scoring on four of his six buckets and putting up nine points.

The T-Wolves did win the offensive-rebounding game, but for the most part, Asik always found somebody to box out; it was usually Marcus Morris or Greg Smith missing a man, allowing for the tap-out or the rebound.

Sixth Man: Carlos Delfino, B-

Carlos Delfino, in his incessant attempt to make us all think that he's a good basketball player, had a pretty good night in this one, this time actually coming in a win.

Delfino shot way too much, making just four of his 13 shots and just three of his 11 three-pointers.

There was a lot of weird basketball going on for the Rockets Wednesday night, with a good portion of it coming from Delfino.

He's definitely got to be commended for his five rebounds and four assists; it's the rest of his game that was just a bit wonky.

Bench: B

The Rockets didn't go very deep in this one, trotting out just three guys off the bench.

In the end, the reserves played fine, and just well enough to make a difference in the game.

The bench was actually able to play very well, overcoming the effect the Timberwolves' bench had on the game—between Carlos Delfino filling up the stat sheet, Greg Smith playing some solid defense and Toney Douglas not screwing things up too much (he made a ridiculously poor 2-of-9 shots).

Everybody on the bench had a positive plus-minus, which was fortunate for the starters, as they just didn't do enough on their own to pull this one out.

Delfino, Smith and Douglas all combined for 20 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists.