2014 Playoffs: (4) Houston vs. (5) Portland

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[benji]

Houston Rockets coach Kevin McHale will return to the team next season, sources confirmed to ESPN.com.

[Andrew]

As much as the Rockets are being dumped on, they actually outscored the Blazers in the series 672-670. They had some blunders that cost them a couple of games - and ultimately the series - but it was a hard fought, competitive series. Aldridge and Lillard were huge, and Lillard hit them with that cold blooded three to send them home, but Houston were hardly dominated.

Howard and Harden are catching a lot of flak, not completely undeservedly of course, but both are bonafide star players. It certainly remains to be seen whether or not they're capable of being the kind of players who can lead a team to great success - players you'd go a step further and call superstars - but at the same time, they're nowhere near being the terrible players that they're often made out to be. They have significant flaws, yes, but a lot of talent as well.

I thought Howard actually had a pretty good series. He averaged 26 and a shade under 14 to go along with just under three blocks, shot the ball well from the field, and wasn't too bad from the free throw line either; 62.5% is far from stellar, but it's respectable for him and better than his regular season clip. He pretty much did what was asked of him.

Harden found a way to score almost 27 per game, but he shot poorly and his high turnover numbers put a damper on his respectable assist totals. Still, he's a very good offensive player and capable playmaker who had a rough series shooting the ball. His major problems are, as so many have said before, at the defensive end. Jeff Van Gundy put it best in a game early on in the series: Harden is a capable defender, but a disinterested one. I think that's right on the money; he has the tools to be a competent defender, but the effort isn't there. The effort will need to be there for him to be as good as he can be and for the Rockets to find more success in the future.

I think the Rockets have a promising future, but there's work to be done and that starts with their top guys continuing to grow as players. The Blazers took advantage of those weaknesses, made the big plays when it counted the most, and they've moved on as a result. Fantastic series, once again.