29-4 when KD is out and Curry is in. Some notes: - Unlike last season, the Warriors have had to play their main guys actual playoff minutes. I don't expect them to be as fresh in games 6 and 7 as they were last season. - We have been damaged by their crappy role players before. Looney in particular. - Game 7 is their last game at the Oracle. That's no joke. The fans, the players, the splash brothers nostalgia. All of that is going to play out. - Harden played 44 minutes. We have been in essentially a 7 man rotation since Game 2, which to me has shown negligible results given our 2 wins were by a hair at home. Watch for our shooters to once again lose their legs. - Tucker on the other hand is likely to catch a breath. It's hard guarding Kevin Durant. - Playing an actual backup C suddenly becomes an option again. Do you think the Rockets are going to underestimate the Warriors like they might have done in the 4th quarter of game 5?
History shows we downplay to our opposition. The moment KD went down, our team looked scared to take the moment. What also worries me is that they will increase their 3pt shooting volume with no Durant, if Klay and Curry get in to rhythm, we are screwed. We have no margin for error and CP3 and Clint are really underwhelming. The first is old and can't drive past Jerebko anymore and the second one is scared of Draymond (it was funny on one play where he had a running start to the rim, say Donkey there and passed it out, he could easily dunk it over him or at least draw a foul or something).
My heart says they will ultimately just walk into TC tomorrow night and think they're gonna trounce them. Please be ready, please.
CP3 has to step up, Capela too, period. That's really all there is to it. If CP3 steps up we win the next two games resting dudes because now we have more talent than them. Harden = Curry Klay = Gordon That means CP3 needs to step up. No one can match his potential offensive input in this series anymore now that Durant is out.
Durant missed 33 games? lol no if you're going back since he got there just stop just looking for reasons to freak out
The Rockets did not underestimate the Warriors in the 4th quarter of game 5. The Rockets have never underestimated the Warriors and they will not the rest of this season. The entire Rockets organization has respect for the Warriors on the court. There is no logical way to argue that the Rockets are worse off with Durant and Cousins both out for the rest of this series.
We’re fine guys. We got this. Warriors are good but this isn’t the same team as last years warriors or the year before. They have two shooters now, that’s it, great shooters? Yes but still only 2. Anything can happen but houston really is the better healthier team at this point. We played as bad as can be in the first half should have been down more than 14 come out get down 20 and then harden brings us right back. We’re down 3 right before KD hits that jumper to go up 5 and injury himself. Steph can’t gaurd and i imagine Hou will trap and double him all game and get the ball out his hands and he’s also more prone to TOs when he having to pass out of a double. I’m confident..... this is going to be hard but being down 0-2 was far more difficult than being down 2-3.
They will miss Durant defensively. Offensively, they may be more potent without Durant. We actually become less able to play Capela or Nene, since they will force a switch onto Curry or Klay. Curry up top against Capela or Nene is doom for us.
Next game(s) will be very hard for Rockets to defend, simply because, 1. Warriors offense is not as predictable as with Durant; 2. All those physical plays away from the ball against Curry and Thompson, will get called now. They got away because Durant attracted most attention before, with the refs more focused on the post. They will watch very closely on those hold & push.
The Rockets will be able to be more aggressive defending Curry and Thompson because there is no one else that can consistently hit from the perimeter for the Warriors. The Rockets will be able to run out smaller lineups if they wish without Durant being available. If the Warriors choose to go with a traditional center, the Rockets will be able to play Capela effectively. The Warriors are not 5 deep. Maybe 6 if they go to Livingston. As for the refs, nothing has changed.... they were going to call the game the way they were going to call it. Also, the Rockets will be able to stick Tucker on Green now, if they choose to. This is a close series....... but the Rockets are not knocked out yet.
It doesn't work that way. Without Durant, the Rockets will be able to go small with less issues unless the Warriors go with a traditional 5, and in that case Capela will be able to be more effective. The idea that the Warriors are better offensively without KD is really odd.
The Rockets are not worse off with Durant out. However, they could very easily overestimate the drop off. Some of Durant being out is going to be mitigated by the fact that they will take a more 3's. Kerr has been saved by the talent of his roster in terms of running a complex offense. With Durant out, they will take more Curry and Thompson 3's in rhythm, which are far more potent shots than Durant's in-rhythm mid range jumpers. This is where MDA has out-coached the F out of Kerr offensively, this is how we get to be neck and neck with them in offensive production. This is why we go single coverage on Durant. Not to mention how flawlessly their offense runs with Durant off the floor. It is not a coincidence that they are about .500 with Curry out and 29-4 when Durant is out. The Warriors have a sub .500 record when Durant scores over 42 or something. That gap is not wholly justified by the results, but it would be stupid to ignore these numbers. We have an easier task than we were going to have, but let's not forget that these guys are champions and that that last game at Oracle is going to be the most challenging road atmosphere of any NBA game this entire season for all 30 teams thus far. The exact thing that has allowed us to stretch our offensive talent to match them in offensive rating is going to come to haunt us now. I'm not saying we can't overcome it or that the Warriors are necessarily better, but it would not be out of character for the Rockets to underestimate them. I'm also certain, like you, that the organization and the staff and most of the players will not take these games lightly. But all it takes is a few guys to go from confident to cocky and that can throw a wrench in the whole thing. This is where champions are born. If nothing changes in our approach, nothing will change in the results. I hope the Rockets are ready not only to beat them, but to keep the doubt in their minds.
It's just laughable to think we would underestimate GS without KD after what happened last night. Lol. Rockets will be fine. Win game 6
As much as I hate Donkey Green, I know he's going to come extra ready for the next two games. Limiting his effectiveness is going to be a huge factor, because he can take a lot more shots and add to any kind of momentum GSW has in Steph and Klay. As always, smart defense and defensive rebounding will be key. We can't let losers like Jerebko or Looney be effective on the court.
And they beat us last game in the regular season in Houston without KD. but they had Boogie in that game who played a critical role for the win. Without KD we will trap Steph on the point and stuck a body on Klay at all time. Without KD their rim protection is weaker. So it is up to us to win or lose. You can’t say that if KD is playing. One thing that cannot happen is Kevan Freaking Looney steps up be the freaking hero. We need to do everything and anything to stop that. Nene should play more minutes.
