James Harden is Russell Westbrook with a beard

The Rockets got thumped in Game 1 against the Warriors and although James Harden finished with 41, his ball dominant iso attack was eventually overwhelmed by the Warriors’ team attack. While Golden State was making the extra pass and assisting on nearly ever basket, the Rockets offense stagnated with Harden regularly dribbling the shot clock down and turning his teammates into spectators. Colin felt like he was watching Russell Westbrook with a beard.

Much like Russell Westbrook, Harden is a ball dominant, volume shot taker, who doesn’t get teammates involved, or get assists in the flow of the game. And like Westbrook, playing that style against a dynasty team like the Warriors isn’t gonna get it done.

To make matters worse for the Rockets, Steph Curry only had 18 and the Warriors won going away. It’s the difference between a good team and a dynasty.

Draft lottery more important than Game 2 for the Cavs

The Cavs need to win tonight against Boston to avoid falling into a 0-2 hole in the Eastern Conference Finals, but Colin thinks it’s a distant second in importance to what they have riding on the NBA Draft Lottery.

The vaunted “Brooklyn Pick” the Cavs received in the Kyrie Irving trade has only yielded 2 ping pong balls and around a 10% chance of landing one of the top three picks, but Colin thinks if Cleveland can get lucky and get a Top 3 pick it would drastically increase the chance LeBron stays this offseason from about even to maybe 75%.

Cleveland could use the pick to trade for a veteran to entice James to stay, or keep the pick if that’s what LeBron wants. Either way, what happens in the lottery tonight will have far more long term ramifications for the Cavs as a franchise and Cleveland as a city than what happens against the Celtics tonight.

Also:

– Colin’s Top 10 NFL Rosters

Guests:

Doug Gottlieb – FS1 Analyst and host of The Doug Gottlieb Show and the All Ball Podcast is in-studio talking Harden working too hard and why Draymond is the best role player in the NBA.

Lee Jenkins – SI Senior Writer is in-studio discussing LeBron’s next decision; why he doesn’t like his options; and why KD makes Golden State an unsolvable puzzle.

Mark Schlereth – FS1 NFL Analyst is in-studio discussing the Joe Flacco not returning Lamar Jackson’s texts; why it makes Flacco look insecure; and why Aaron Rodgers would be great for Dez Bryant.