Written by Demetri Inembolidis

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As currently constructed, the Houston Rockets are a far superior team to the Cleveland Cavaliers.  Houston general manager Daryl Morey has constructed a roster that is better balanced, more experienced and more talented than Chris Grant has been able to build.  Daryl Morey has been obsessed with getting a star player on his team.  He attempted to obtain Pau Gasol and Dwight Howard and landed with quite the consolation prize in James Harden in late October. 

James Harden had a rough night until the fourth quarter.  One thing that separates star players from the average is their ability to close a game despite struggling.  It happened to Dirk Nowitzki in game 6 of the 2011 finals.  James Harden was struggling badly throughout the first three quarters.  Alonzo Gee was playing smothering defense on Harden and forced him into 2-11 shooting throughout the first three quarters.  It didn't matter.  Harden finished the game with 29 points on 6-17 shooting.  He was nearly impossible to contain in the fourth quarter. 

A key possession occurred with 5:52 remaining in the game.  Dion Waiters played 23 seconds of strong defense on Harden.  He forced the Rockets guard into losing control of the basketball and he had a choice to either stand his ground or chase after the loose ball.  Waiters decided to go after the ball and Harden launced a shot from 30 feet away which he made.  Byron Scott would have preferred Waiters to have forget about chasing down the loose ball, but he did not sound overly upset about the decision that Waiters made.  "Hindsight is 20/20.  I mean, I would rather him just hold and now you've got the guy coming at you shooting a 25, 26 footer and at least you're in front of him.  I thought when he gambled, he really gave James a clear view," said Byron Scott after the game.

The Cavs had an early lead for the first time in what feels like an eternity.  A Tristan Thompson putback layup with 5:09 remaining in the first quarter put the Cavs up 20-10.  Kyrie Irving stole the ball from Carlos Delfino in the closing seconds of the first quarter.  He got around Delfino in what can only be described as a breathtaking spin move.  Irving converted on the ensuing layup, which put the Cavs up 26-20 to finish the quarter.  It only took until a little over 6 minutes in the second quarter for the Cavs to squander their lead and to find themselves in a 37-36 deficit.  The Cavs were competitive throughout the game.  There were 4 lead changes and 4 ties in the third quarter.  As the Cavs have shown a history of this season, they were either leading or within striking distance until the closing minutes of the game.  The Cavs did not sway from the script against the Rockets.  There were 4 lead changes and 2 ties in the 4th quarter, which is impressive considering that the Cavs lost by a finals score of 112-104. 

Kyrie Irving had a lot of problems holding onto the basketball.  He scored a lot of points, but needed a lot of shots to do so.  There were some dazzling plays by Irivng, but there were also a lot of missed mid-range shots and three point attempts that he typically makes.  To be honest, Irving looked fatigued.  Byron Scott played Irving for the entirety of the 1st and 4th quarters, which could explain why he looked like he was playing at a different pace than we are accustomed to.  Irving tied his career high in turnovers by losing control of the ball 8 times.  "I thought he tried to press at times and take the load," said Scott.  It is difficult to disagree with that comment. 

Tristan Thompson continued his solid play with Anderson Varejao's absence.  Thompson notched another double-double.  He finished with 14 points and 16 rebounds.  The 16 rebounds set a career high for the second year power forward.  If Thomspon continues playing like this, it may make the trade deadline interesting for the Cavs.  One has to think that Varejao would be considered more expendable if Thomspon can prove to be a starting calibur player in the league.

Jeremy Lin got off to a slow start.  It took a 15 point, 3 rebound and 5 assist third quarter for him to finish the game with a respectable 20 points and 5 assists. 

The keys to the game for the Cavs were to limit how how many possession the Rockets had and to keep their free throws to a minimum.  It was also important to not let them take and make a lot of threes.  The Rockets average 9.8 made threes a game.  Against the Cavs, they made 12.  The Rockets also attempted 36 free throws, which is good for 8.5 more than their season average.  The one positive for the Cavs was that they took 91 shots compared to 79 for the Rockets.  That can be attributed to the excessive free throws that Houston took, but it is still 12 more shots than Houston.

Things do not get any easier for the Cavs.  They travel to Chicago to take on the Bulls on Monday night.  Tipoff is at 8:00 PM.