Five Years Ago Today: Rockets Begin 2020 NBA Bubble Playoffs

The Rockets were given plenty of trouble in round one against Oklahoma City. They went up 2-0 in the series pretty easily, but the Thunder came right back with two wins of their own, including a tight 117-114 victory in Game 4 to tie it at two apiece.

After trading wins, from there, the Rockets pulled out a 104-102 win in Game 7 to move on to the Western Conference Semifinals. In the decisive contest, the defense of James Harden and the experience from Houston is what led to the team pulling away.

After a first-round series that lasted over two weeks due to player protests within the NBA Bubble, Houston moved on to face the top-seeded Los Angeles Lakers in round two. Many forget that while the series would end the Rockets' run in Orlando, they pulled off an impressive 112-97 win in Game 1.

Harden, Russell Westbrook, and Eric Gordon combined for 83 points in Game 1, but from there the Lakers won the next four games by an average margin of 12.8 points. While Harden played up to par, Westbrook was on and off in round two, but it's important to note that he missed most of the first round due to a right quadriceps strain.

Harden would finish the postseason averaging 29.6 points, 7.7 assists and 5.6 rebounds across 12 games, while Westbrook put up 17.9 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.6 assists across eight games. Gordon managed to step up and impress in the first two rounds, putting up 17.3 points on below-average shooting.

The Lakers would go on to win the 2020 NBA Finals, and while many debate on whether or not the championship was the hardest ever or deserves an asterisk, the feeling after the playoffs was more relief that everyone could just go home. The league managed to crown a champion and could focus on navigating another season heavily impacted by COVID-19.

The 2020 playoffs would be the last Harden would play in a Rockets uniform. One of the greatest players in franchise history, the 2018 MVP would go through some drama with the team before being moved to the Brooklyn Nets.