Why the Houston Rockets Bother Me From a Grit and Self-Reliance Perspective

I should state as quickly as possible that although I am from the Bay Area, I am a Lakers fan. This article has no bias in favor of the Warriors. Go Lake Show (even though we stink).

Still with me? It's a miracle!

A week or two ago I was watching the Rockets defeat the Jazz (which made me quite happy). During this time I couldn't help but think to myself that I would love to see a team other than the Warriors win it all this year. But after the first game of the Rockets-Warriors series I realized something: I can't stand the Rockets. I wasn't sure why, but I think I have finally figured it out.

Recently, the Rockets have been all over the sports news. Specifically, James Harden's complaining has been all over sports news. He is incredible. The man can shoot, dribble, and mess with his defensive opponents at will. His offensive ability gets him to the free throw line constantly. In fact, "Harden has led the NBA in free throw attempts for five of the past seven years. In the two seasons where he didn't lead the league, he finished in second and in third" (CBS Sports). That is an incredible statistic. But one which I can't help but despise due to its nature.

Harden and the Rockets spend a lot of time complaining about calls. Even the organization wrote an entire write up to the NBA with a full analysis of points they lost in game 7 of last year's Western Conference Finals. Yes. This incredible team and organization decided to blame their loss on the refs. They decided to not take responsibility for their own failures. This bothers me to no end.

My brother is a college basketball coach and when I asked him what motto he tells his team to live by he said "control what you can control." Control. What do players have control over? Their actions. Their performance. How they run their offense and how they work as a team. They have control over their decisions and how they react to tough situations. The reality of every basketball player ever is that they have to deal with refs whom they disagree with much more frequently than they agree. Everyone hates refs, right? Absolutely. No one goes into a game feeling excited that the refs are there.

James Harden is so good at getting to the free throw line because he has mastered the art of getting people to hit or touch him in ways that cause refs to call fouls. To say that he is one of the best ever at this is an understatement. He can sell a foul like no other. But that's just it: He banks on fouls to help him win games. He banks on the refs, not himself, to help him win the game. When those refs don't agree with him, he is left with nothing but frustration. There is no grit in this style of play and certainly no self-reliance. Instead, the hopes of winning are based on a third party. Winning is no longer 5-on-5 with the Rockets. They want to make it 8-on-5 with the refs being their three extra players.

This is what bothers me. The lack of focus on "I am going to outscore this team on offense and shut them down on defense" and the overly centralized focus on "I have to get the refs to call a foul." Self-reliance is gone. The team and the team's performance is no longer the most important aspect of the game. And when things don't go according to plan, the blame is put on those three refs who didn't make the "right" call.

Don't get me wrong: the Rockets are beyond talented and have multiple amazing players and skill sets. But how much they rely on creating fouls to win games makes me dislike them more and more. And I suppose that the underlying factor here is that any individual who shirks his or her own responsibilities and blames failures on a third party will rarely deserve my respect.

Life requires grit and self-reliance. Work, family, school, church, friends. Whatever it may be, all things require a focus on grit and self-reliance and "controlling what you can control." Placing blame on a third party or counting on someone else to help you succeed is a recipe for distraction and failure. Don't be that person. Do your own work. Find your own success. Having help isn't wrong, but relying mainly on that help to help you achieve your goals will leave you sorely disappointed. Just like it did in game 1 for the Rockets.