James respects Russ and is doing his best to match his intensity. The last time they played with each other for a full season they went to the finals. FACTS
This team is virtually guaranteed to be the top 1 offense. That kind of advantage gives you more leeway on the defensive end.
It will be even better when Gordon returns. This BS about stats having EG as the worst player in the league will be put to rest within a few weeks of EG getting back in game shape. We all know that EG has ups and downs throughout the season but usually he provides some damn good games by the end of the season. His defense last year was phenomenal. All those EG haters can kiss my ass. I know the man will start having fun again once he comes back.
I’m not sure where you have heard this. I’m 100% confident I’ve heard him say top 10 is good enough for a chip multiple times. In fact I’ve heard him insinuate above average was passable.
It's usually just Harden and a good defensive effort....any bigger injuries, even that eye injury will still impede him in the Playoffs.
That's the one team that concerns me. It won't be easy taking 4 wins against them. It will be a bloodied war.
If we aren’t a too 3 defense then we have underachieved. We have the personnel to make life hell for anyone, and to collect every single loose ball and rebound. We have a team of linebackers and knife fighters out there. Clippers and Lakers better hide their wives.
I'm more scared of the Lakers defensively than the Clippers. I understand the fear though, PG13 and Kawhi and Beverly, but I'm not really sure their interior defense is to be feared. Also, Kawhi's defense has been very meh lately. Maybe he's just coasting and will do that Kawhi thing in the playoffs...but I can only go off what I see and while he's still a good defender he hasn't been that lock down shur down can't get past him defender thus far, might be the knee. But the Lakers defense has perimeter defenders and shot blockers in Dwight, Mcgee, Davis, and Lebron, extreme length, savvy perimeter guys like Rondo, Green, and Lebron...yeah, I think they are the team to beat right now, unfortunately.
We still need shot blockers on this team. If Tyson can't play much, Clint is our only shot blocker. Hart is a great rebounder but his shot blocking awareness/instincts is not there. He is better off playing a taller 4 with the ability to stretch the floor. If we can find one more consistent strong shot blocker we might become scarier than the clippers.
I prefer net margin. Teams with great offense and great defense tend to blow out opponents by 10 plus points a game. Net margin normalizes the defensive effort relative to the offensive effort. You can be an awesome defensive team with great defensive metrics and lose 60% of your games. You need to have a good defense relative to your offensive production in order to win games.
yup, that's our main advantage against them.....they tried starting Patterson to help out in the paint, but he was getting cooked by harden and Westbrook on the perimeter and he's not quick enough in transition to guard the Westbrook fastbreak....they started lou Williams in the second half and jaymychal green is also not a good enough perimeter defender, though decent. WIth Zubac and Harrell not being 3 point threats, it plays right into our hands, since Capela and Tyson can just stay in the paint most of the time. They do not match up well with us at all in that sense. Paul George must be on the floor for a lot of minutes and our goal should be to run him into the ground with Westbrook, making him and kawhi play defense all game long. i'm not scared of the clippers at all, I don't think they match up well with us.
They are active on defense, and keeping Capela by the basket, which is where you want your shot blocking center, not constantly dancing outside the perimeter. Sometimes you just have to have the "look" And it trickles down to everyone, Westbrook mean mugging has trickled down to the rest of the team. Team has an edge they didn't have before, sometimes you just have to put some fear in your opponent, the rest will follow....
i saw a tweet today that said the rockets have gone from 28th in rebounding last year to 7th this year
