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The Warriors And Rockets Have Reinvented Modern NBA Defense. Yes, Defense.
The offensive firepower — Golden State and Houston finished No. 1 and No. 2 in offensive efficiency and virtually averaged the same number of points per 100 possessions — guarantees we’ll hear plenty about how well these teams score. But because of that, something else about the Rockets and Warriors may fly beneath the radar: The NBA’s two best clubs are even further ahead of the curve on defense. In a league that’s more reliant than ever on the pick-and-roll offense, these defenses are unmatched when it comes to their versatility and ability to switch assignments on the fly. That ability — having two similarly sized players trade their defensive responsibilities quickly enough during a pick-and-roll that the offense doesn’t gain an edge — speaks to the length and versatility these Western Conference foes have. And it takes on added importance in a matchup like this, in which the Warriors and Rockets use an array of screens (albeit differently1) to free up their most lethal shooters beyond the 3-point line. “Their ability to guard 1 through 5 makes it so much easier for us. That’s why we’re so much better on defense this year,” Houston guard Eric Gordon said of the duo, which sometimes shares the frontcourt despite neither standing taller than 6-foot-8. (Nonetheless, the lineup pays dividends: Houston, trailing by 14 heading into the fourth quarter at Portland in December, came back to win by 7 while using Mbah a Moute and Tucker at the 4 and 5 for the entire period.)
538
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Poll: Who wins game 1?Golden State Warriors (5) 63% Houston Rockets (3) 38% 8 total votes Your vote: Who wins game 1? (Vote): Houston Rockets
(Vote): Golden State Warriors
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With the amount and quality and variety of offensive weapons between these teams, it will be all about who blinks first.
Defense is more or less equal and is negated by the overwhelming ways both teams can score, so whichever team has a player that gets cold a game will lose it.
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Harden with the Lebronesque defense at the end of the game, complaining to the refs instead of going back on D.
Just when you thought he was over that.
Game summary:
Houston played half the defense and twice the offense... not balanced.
Golden State played perfectly balanced, as all things should be.
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"Wow, you must have a whole 'nother library just for defensive plays!"
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Goddamn, Rockets basketball is so fugly. And it’s even worse when juxtaposed against the Warriors. I don’t really know what else that the Rockets could have done last night to win playing the style that they played. If anything, it felt like they made more shots than they really had any business making.
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On May 16 2018 00:37 xDaunt wrote:
Goddamn, Rockets basketball is so fugly. And it’s even worse when juxtaposed against the Warriors. I don’t really know what else that the Rockets could have done last night to win playing the style that they played. If anything, it felt like they made more shots than they really had any business making.
You are not going to out-Warriors the Warriors.
You can't beat this team running fast paced and shooting 3's because they are just better at it than you are. Only way Houston is going to win this series is if they slow it down but they just aren't equipped to do that, they're all in with their philosophy and frankly it just isn't going to work vs Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and fucking Kevin Durant.
Maybe Golden State goes cold for a quarter and Eric Gordon and Nick Anderson catch fire or something, maybe you can steal a game that way, but doing that 4 times?
Houston is fucked IMO. They can't beat this team.
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I don't believe you. I think you need to write another article about how they are revolutionizing shooting threes well and being long.
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On May 16 2018 00:46 Vindicare605 wrote:Show nested quote +On May 16 2018 00:37 xDaunt wrote:
Goddamn, Rockets basketball is so fugly. And it’s even worse when juxtaposed against the Warriors. I don’t really know what else that the Rockets could have done last night to win playing the style that they played. If anything, it felt like they made more shots than they really had any business making. You are not going to out-Warriors the Warriors. You can't beat this team running fast paced and shooting 3's because they are just better at it than you are. Only way Houston is going to win this series is if they slow it down but they just aren't equipped to do that, they're all in with their philosophy and frankly it just isn't going to work vs Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and fucking Kevin Durant. Maybe Golden State goes cold for a quarter and Eric Gordon and Nick Anderson catch fire or something, maybe you can steal a game that way, but doing that 4 times? Houston is fucked IMO. They can't beat this team.
I don't think the Rockets' plan is to out-Warriors the Warriors.
Although both offenses look similar in that they shoot a lot of threes, the sets are actually very different.
For the Warriors, they run a motion offense where Curry and Klay and Durant wades through screens, double screens, staggered screens, to both gain space and for the three point shots and to slip cuts toward the rim. For the Rockets on the other hand, the threes come immediately without much movement. Harden or Paul isos from beyond the arc while all the others are waiting, and when the double comes, the pass is made to the open man for the three.
Both teams may do this early or late in the possession. The difference is Houston relies on isos to open up the threes while the Warriors breakdown the defense with a lot of movement. Another key difference is how much passing happens between possessions. This is a rough estimate based on what I've read so it might be a little off, but the Warriors make 5-7 passes per possession before the shot. Houston, on the other hand, despite scoring close to 50% of their point from the three only generates 2-3 passes per possession. That practically inbound to guard, pass to Harden if he is not the inbound receiver, double comes, pass to open man, and shoot.
Other than the obvious disadvantage of having less firepower than the Warriors, the Rockets can be stifled if faced with elite defense like that of the Warriors. The #1 seed is a fools gold from the start. The Warriors weeded out their flaws in Barnes, and now that they have Durant who can score easily from anywhere, grind in from the inside when Steph and Klay are off, and provide elite defense, the Warriors looks unbeatable in the next three to four years.
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The main problem I have with this match up is the pacing. I just don't think even a team like Houston can win vs the Warriors playing fast because the transition 3 is so outrageously overpowered with shooters like theirs.
You have to slow them down. You have to!
Give the ball to Chris Paul and let him orchestrate a half court offense and slow the game down. Sure that's not what Houston is built to do, but they just can't beat the Warriors playing their usual style.
We'll see what Mike D'Antoni does.
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Yeah, what's truly unfair about this series is that, even though Houston is the iso team, the Warriors have the best iso player in Durant.
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Yeah. 7 swishy turn around fadeaways mygod.
He even trashtalked Ariza of all people.
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On May 16 2018 00:37 xDaunt wrote:
Goddamn, Rockets basketball is so fugly. And it’s even worse when juxtaposed against the Warriors. I don’t really know what else that the Rockets could have done last night to win playing the style that they played. If anything, it felt like they made more shots than they really had any business making.
B-b-but statistical models say it's optimal!
They certainly don't support Kevin Durant completely dominating by scoring from everywhere on the court shooting over everyone's head.
+ Show Spoiler +I know it's a straw man, don't feel obligated to respond. But seriously though Kevin Durant is the dirtiest 1v1 player the league might have seen. You can roughly scheme to handle the other Warriors, but you cannot do that AND scheme against KD at the same time. The moment you choose (or are forced) to not double-team him, you just have to pray he has a REALLY off night. In this game I'm not even sure they planned to double-team him or not, most of the time he was pulling up too fast and from too far for the defense to react. Just completely unguardable.
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At the top of page 26 (this thread), you have a picture of him shooting over Solomon Hill. Hill's hand doesn't even reach his eye level. Almost literally a practice shot vs a slightly agitated chair.
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Long and accurate. He is such a prolific scorer that he can score anywhere any way he wants.
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On May 16 2018 01:47 ZenithM wrote:
At the top of page 26 (this thread), you have a picture of him shooting over Solomon Hill. Hill's hand doesn't even reach his eye level. Almost literally a practice shot vs a slightly agitated chair.
This is why I feel bad for Durant. This is practically his league now, yet his talent/popularity ratio is bonkers.
He really should work on his PR and stop shit he does on twitter and social media in general.
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EPT![[image loading]](https://bballbreakdown.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Curry-vs.-Harden-1058x720.jpg)
