2018 PLAYOFFS: (1) Houston vs. (2) Golden State

[Dee4Three]

Capela with 6 rebounds, he needs to find a way to be more assertive. It's what I thought would happen, the Warriors gang defense/gang rebounding was too much. I'm sure Draymond Green himself will outrebound Capela in this series, it was 9 to 6 last night.

The Warriors and the Celtics play similar defense, and rebound similar. All 5 guys on both of those teams attack the offensive and defensive glass, both of those teams don't need a true center in order to win the rebound battle. I think this makes Capela a big question mark in this series. I agree with Shadowgrin about using Capela more in the PNR, but I'm also not sure how effective that will be on the Warriors. It's certainly worth a try considering all the ISO ball they played in game 1. I'd like to see Chris Paul atleast get more screens at the top of the key, so even if he doesn't hit Capela with the pass, he can step into a shot where he has blue sky from mid range. Pauls mid range/tweener game is deadly.

Durant yelling "HE CAN"T GUARD ME" several times while Ariza was guarding him speaks volumes about this series. Ariza is a good defender, but on KD he looks horrible. Nobody on the Rockets can guard Durant, they can't match up with him size wise or length wise, he can get to his spots at will. It's the same reason why Dirk went off in the 2011 playoffs, when a 7 footer has that type of scoring ability from the outside/inside, combined with the confidence to get the job done, the opposing teams really have no choice but to hope he misses. I think Durant is a snake for the move he made to GS, but you can't take anything away from him skill wise, the man is so talented.

Green could average 5 points a game in this series, and have an amazing impact. The same type of impact (Albeit not as good on the boards) as Dennis Rodman did over the years. He will fill it up on the stat sheet in the other categories, but outside of stats it's his constant energy and leadership by example on the floor. Who on the Rockets will match Greens energy? Nobody. His ability to be a one man fastbreak of sorts while having Klay/Curry/Durant as targets is just stupid.... example being when he dribbled up the middle of the floor and flipped it backwards to Klay for that trailer three. The Rockets have two guys that can really get up and down the floor and make plays, the Warriors have 4 on the court for the majority of the game, so hard to overcome (And 5 when they throw Igoudala in there). It's the big reason for that 3rd quarter barrage, I feel like they will have one of those barrages in each game this series, which is why I only see the Rockets winning one game now.

I don't have much to say about Harden, other than he just needs to play the game. He needs to be a leader, as does Paul. Harden should also be put in more PNR situations, as once he gets that first step to the hoop he's really tough to stop. I expect more out of Pringles coaching wise, as he ran the PNR with Nash and Stoudamire to death in Phoenix. Granted, the Rockets don't have Amare, but freeing up Paul and Harden for good looks should be the top priority.

phpBB [video]

[[Q]]

Holy crap watching highlights and the warriors just can't miss. They are like a video game team playing on rookie difficulty

Houston has the ability to play great defense at times, but warriors offense is too much and they can't keep up the defensive intensity over 48 minutes. Plus, the whole "great offense always beats great defense" thing

[air gordon]

overreact some after 1 game?
thought capela did fine this game. had a strong 1st quarter.

GSW only had 3orebs for the game and did a lot of damage on the perimeter. is it possible to get out on transition when all 5 players crash the boards?!

d'antoni's turn for adjustments. i don't think anything major. they got a lot switches off the pick in their favor. 2 out of ariza, tucker, luc richard need to show up next game

[Dee4Three]

overreact some after 1 game?
thought capela did fine this game. had a strong 1st quarter.

GSW only had 3orebs for the game and did a lot of damage on the perimeter. is it possible to get out on transition when all 5 players crash the boards?!

d'antoni's turn for adjustments. i don't think anything major. they got a lot switches off the pick in their favor. 2 out of ariza, tucker, luc richard need to show up next game

A strong first quarter won't win you the game. He needs to be better. Christ, I hope he doesn't hold himself to just that standard and think he played "fine", especially in the WCFs at home.

It is possible to get on the fastbreak. When I say all 5 crash the boards, I'm not saying they all do it at the same time, although gang rebounding does happen at times. All players have the ability and will to crash the boards. Curry is even a good rebounder for his size. GS lead the league in fastbreak points this season (19.1 per game), Houston was 17th with 11.2 per game. Houston wants to slow it down, while Golden State wants to run. I just don't see Houston stopping Golden State from getting into there type of game.

In game 1, the Warriors had 18 fastbreak points, and the Rockets had 3. Game was decided by 13 points.

I stand by the Warriors/Celtics defense comparison. The Warriors caused the Rockets to commit 16 turnovers, and the Warriors only had 9. And the Rockets only getting 3 points in transition is just not going to cut it, that means every other basket they had was in the half court, they had to work much harder to score than the Warriors did.

Not an overreaction when you lose game 1 at home to the healthy defending champions. They gave Golden State, an already deadly team momentum. And to further complicate things, they literally have no answer for Kevin Durant (As stated above). They can't double him because of the amount of talent on the perimeter, they cant guard him in single coverage (clearly that doesn't work), they have to hope he misses. Durant has been damn good in the playoffs the last couple years, I just don't see them having an answer for him.

Whats concerning for the Rockets as well, is the Warriors didn't even shoot lights out from three. They went 13-33, and the Rockets went 13-37. As a team, the Warriors shot 39% from three during the season, in game 1 they shot 40%. They didn't shoot lights out by any means, just what they normally do.. The Rockets shot 36% during the season, and 36% in game 1. The problem is: The Warriors playing to averages are better than the Rockets playing to averages. The Rockets need to play better, above and beyond how they played in the regular season, and hope that the Warriors stay average.

[Jeffx]

Houston's gameplan was baffling.....Harden dribbling the air out of the ball, going ISO with the other players standing around? No cutting, no flow, nothing - WTF??? That shit works against lower level teams, not Golden State with their talent/length/athleticism. Like Reggie Miller said, Golden State WANTS Houston to play like this - it makes their job easier.

[Sauru]

Kevin Durant is still a bitch.

[[Q]]

Kevin Durant is still a bitch.

Word.

[Andrew]

Houston's gameplan was baffling.....Harden dribbling the air out of the ball, going ISO with the other players standing around? No cutting, no flow, nothing - WTF??? That shit works against lower level teams, not Golden State with their talent/length/athleticism. Like Reggie Miller said, Golden State WANTS Houston to play like this - it makes their job easier.

Their offense looked very stagnant for stretches, especially in the third. Credit to Golden State's defense too, but the Rockets made their job a little easier with all that standing around.

[air gordon]

Houston's gameplan was baffling.....Harden dribbling the air out of the ball, going ISO with the other players standing around? No cutting, no flow, nothing - WTF??? That shit works against lower level teams, not Golden State with their talent/length/athleticism. Like Reggie Miller said, Golden State WANTS Houston to play like this - it makes their job easier.

Their offense looked very stagnant for stretches, especially in the third. Credit to Golden State's defense too, but the Rockets made their job a little easier with all that standing around.

Have to factor in a lot of stagnant was due to GSW switching on the pick. Houston got the matchup they wanted many times and GSW didn't come trap

[Andrew]

That they did.

Interestingly, it was brought up that the Warriors actually attempt more mid-range shots than threes. So much for the mid-range game being a thing of the past.

[Dee4Three]

That they did.

Interestingly, it was brought up that the Warriors actually attempt more mid-range shots than threes. So much for the mid-range game being a thing of the past.

Durant thrives from mid range.

[Andrew]

Hell of a counter-punch from the Rockets, it must be said. The next two are at Oracle though, and it remains to be seen whether they'll continue to shoot this well, and whether the Warriors will shoot as poorly as they did in Game 2. The latter seems highly unlikely, especially as Klay pulled a trademark disappearing act that probably isn't going to happen two games in a row, especially at home. There was still a lot of disorganised iso ball from the Rockets that worked out because they were hitting shots and the Warriors were not, but they can't count on that happening the rest of the way.

I'll walk back a little on my previous post and concede that it was a bit of a knee-jerk reaction, but in Game 1, iso ball and the Warriors' defense stifled the Rockets in the third quarter while they made their usual run to blow the game wide open. I expect those Warriors to show up at home, and as it stands they did what they needed to do, at least getting the split in Houston to tip off the series. Counting the Rockets out after Game 1 was admittedly premature, but for the moment, picking against the Warriors still feels like it was an iffy choice.

It's looking like they'll both make a series out of it, however it goes down. I'd like to see some games that come down to the wire, though. It's one thing to trade blowouts and enjoy a comfortable win because you're on while the other team is off, but let's see how it turns out when they've got to get the job done in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter. Either way, things are looking interesting.

[NovU]

Nice win. Pressure's on the Warriors team now. They need to protect homecourt otherwise it'll be the Rockets with advantage again.

Kevin Durant is still a bitch.

Word.

Hah! You big three are the NLSC's bitch trio just like the Heat's LBJ/Bosh/Wade!

Is Jerry West a bitch too?
"To hear some of these things that some of these basketball experts, to hear ex-players say things about it -- it's disgusting. I wish I had a chance to be a free agent because I probably wouldn't have finished my career in Los Angeles."

[shadowgrin]

Jerry West was talking about ex-players being haters tho, not the fans like us.



Rockets passing the ball around like it was the 2016-17 season, before they went iso heavy this season.
No coincidence that Eric Gordon had a good game, it’s the system that made him flourish and win the 6th man award.

[NovU]

Is Jerry West a bitch too?

Don't lie, grin. U know he is, because he's practically saying he'd have joined the Celtics FFS

[air gordon]

oops, looks like we have a series now

Rockets passing the ball around like it was the 2016-17 season, before they went iso heavy this season.
No coincidence that Eric Gordon had a good game, it’s the system that made him flourish and win the 6th man award.

stop making sense. leave the analsys to the amateurs

yeah i'd like to see a few games go to the wire but i think the rockets obliging the warriors with a beatdown was nice too.

[Andrew]

So, maybe they're just going to trade blowouts?

[air gordon]

if it's going to lead to an epic game 7 like Cavs-Warriors finals 2yrs ago i'm all for it

[Kevin]

harden choked offensively but the team effort on their defense was awesome.

[Dee4Three]

Shocked Rockets took this one.

[NovU]

Seemed like this was played at a pace CP3 prefers. He also didnt let draymond get into his head which frustrated draymond also.

[shadowgrin]

Rockets main scorers stepping up in that defensive game.
Chris Paul doing work, leading the team despite a subpar coach (on defense) just like he did in his entire career with NOLA and LAC.

[Andrew]

Finally a close one. I thought that last three was going in to force overtime.

[air gordon]

Wow series tied 2-2 heading back to houston

[[Q]]

Rockets main scorers stepping up in that defensive game.
Chris Paul doing work, leading the team despite a subpar coach (on defense) just like he did in his entire career with NOLA and LAC.

Chris Paul fan since 2005, and the road has been tough. Got so close in New Orleans but the Spurs kept getting in the way. He even had an MVP season the year Kobe won. Choke jobs with the Clippers and Doc thinking his son is an all star. Pretty sure this is the furthest he's ever been in the playoffs.