i agree on that, but lets not forget Howard just outplayed Chandler ( who is better and more athletic then Bogut imo) and Jordan who imo the worst match up for Howard, Howard did just fine and if he can stay out of foul trouble, Howard should also outplay Bogut with no problem.
And so? The rockets and clippers have been far more battle tested than the Warriors at this point....PERIOD. What are you so scared of? And the Rockets have not played their best basketball yet either. In fact they are peaking at the right time. You act like all the "conditions" you've granted the Warriors do not apply to the Rockets for some reason. I for one can't believe the Rockets got swept by the Warriors in the regular season (even with our different lineups and injuries etc). I've always perceived the Rockets as the superior team and they've owns the Warriors outside of this regular season. Nothing's changed. Rockets still have the Warriors number. It will be manifested in this WCF matchup
Agreed. The team will have to ride ride Dwert this series even harder than the usual consistent rock he's been for us. I say work it in-to-out and hope that Dwert finds our guys for kick outs/drop offs. It'll be a misguided effort to try and keep up with the splash bros from the perimeter.
Scared of? I was just commenting on the definition of "adversity". You guys can interpret things anyway you want. At the end of the day, the games will be decided on the court. My point is that your adversity is no better or worse than any other team. If that makes your team feel more confident then great. As far as you not believing the Rockets got swept by the Warriors this season, why are you still even focused on it? I'm a Warriors fan and I don't care that we beat you guys 4-0. I'm not even going to bother commenting on you thinking the Rockets are superior team. You guys earned the right to play in the West Finals along with the Warriors. When the series is over, we can discuss who was the better team. Oh, you can also read what the Warriors think of their "adversity".......... http://www.sfgate.com/sports/ostler/article/Warriors-edge-was-sharpened-by-losses-to-6269547.php
Our biggest X-factor in this upcoming series is Howard. In all 4 regular season games against the Warriors, he didn't play in the first two, played well in the 3rd game though the rest of the team didn't and was ineffective the last game but he only played 23 minutes. Howard is playing mightily in these playoffs and I don't doubt his impact will make the series more competitive than people give the Rockets credit for.
I don't know what you expected in this thread. There are numerous other threads where everyone is still celebrating, but this thread is entitled, "On to the Warriors." We are moving on from the last win and discussing what we think of the next series. Here is what I think. The Warriors are the future of the NBA. They took Morey's system and improved it. Their players are simply better at shooting threes and making lay ups. They are so advanced and ahead of every NBA team right now that they managed to win 67 games in the toughest WC ever. I doubt the 70 win Bulls teams could have achieved what the Warriors achieved this season. The Warriors lost 2 games at home in the regular season. I'm not sure that's ever been done before. I explained that, but I will try again. Our back court consists of a 38 year old PG and a 37 year old PG. Curry will have no trouble defending them because all they do is shoot threes. They cannot go under on pick and rolls like they did sometimes last series, because unlike CP3, Curry will make them pay. While we might be able to slow down Klay, there is no way our current point guards can guard Stephen Curry.
Your analysis is very simple deduction. There are so many holes here. I don't know where to start as a coach. Let's start with your assertion that Iggy and co. are going to bully James around. Have you noticed that James' strength is his ability to get around guys longer than him (Iggy) and split double teams? Also, Klay is not a defensive powerhouse. If anything, nasty Matt Barnes and CP3 played better D than Thompson can. The myth is that he is a 2-way player. That comes from the Warrior's offensive efficiency. Klay appears to be a good defender because of the amount of shots the Warriors get up, in comparison to other teams. It looks like he stops guys from shooting, but that's not the case. His backcourt brother just shoots jumpers like a Grandma poppin' Xanax. Klay may "smother" Terry or Prigs based on his size, but James is so much STRONGER than Klay. You've completely underrated James' stocky build and strength. Klay isn't built for physicality, and neither is that stick Curry. Next, you assume that Harden will be chasing those boys around. Have you been watching? We switch on defense quite a bit. The Warriors offense is almost ALWAYS the "CORNER OFFENSE" That allows our guys, if we're smart, to play a corner zone. James can stay put and Trevor can guard the other side. The teams that have beaten the Warriors learned that chasing the Spazz Bros is a trap. You let them run, but you stay by the corners and switch. It's a simple college adjustment. Now, to your garbage about Dwight: I will admit that Dwight is not the Orlando Dwight. I will also admit that I am a big fan of his, and I agree with him, and his crew, that he isn't used as best as he could be in Htown. HOWEVER, comparing Howard and Bogut is ridiculous. The games that Dwight was able to play against GS were during times of injury. He was unhealthy from the start of the season. I told you Bullard said he needed 6-8 weeks. He should have just started the season on the injured list. Anyway, if you look at career stats, especially playoff stats, there is no comparison. Dwight's numbers are stronger, especially on the defensive end and rebounding. The Warriors struggle with offensive rebounds against bigger centers. In terms of a skill set, Bogut doesn't have ISH on Dwight. Dwight is no Dream, but his arsenal of moves greatly outnumbers Andrew's skills. Bogut is more of a garbage man. He doesn't get many plays called for him because he isn't coordinated enough. In college, he dominated based on his STRENGTH. I personally watched him play, scouted and saw him beat the living hell out of opponents. This does not apply to our Dwight. Have you seen how strong Mr. Howard is? In comparison to Bogut, Dwight is a much better athlete, defender, scorer and game-changer. His greatest weakness is his free throw shooting, but Andrew, Iggy and Draymond struggle there, too. I'm tired of the "grandpa" line. Our "grandpas" won't have to chase Curry and Thompson around because we have a guy named Ariza who will force them into our bigs. Also, have you heard of Corey Brewer? You know, "Mr. Anxiety?" Have you seen how underrated he is on the ball? I will personally bet that he makes Klay's life a living hell with his length, speed and tenacity. The Warriors are a great team, but they haven't been battle tested like us. They beat the Pelicans and an INJURED Grizzlies team. We've won against a competitive Dallas team with Dirk and we just beat, IMO, the most talented starting 5 in the West in LAC, minus Mr. Barnes. You also fail to realize that James is still getting over the flu and hasn't played his best ball yet. Anticipate his feelings when he sees the man that stole his MVP trophy. You will see a James Harden that hasn't shown up yet. It will be his goal to show Curry up. I'm betting he'll ask Kevin if he can guard SC a few times. So, to be clear, the Warriors aren't going to clobber us, smother us or sweep us. Just because you've read a box score and have watched the Splash Bros a couple of times doesn't mean you have analyzed the matchups. The NBA is no longer about pure talent. It's a game of mismatches, and our "coach" is slowly learning to adjust to them. You should apologize to Jason Terry already. A champion who averaged nearly 15 ppg in this series at his age is awesome. Even more, he was the glue that kept our guys focused. Who on the Warriors will keep them together through adversity? Iggy? No, it will be Kerr. The guy who got the pass from MJ and became legendary for a simple jumper that Prigs could make, too. It's the Kerr "culture," in Oakland where Montas, Captain Jacks and B-Diddys aren't allowed in. They're a bunch of simps that are about to be surprised. Draymond Green is going to be the next "bad guy," and if you hated Matt Barnes, you'll hate this piece of work even more. To this poster, please consider the game more than the numbers. The Warriors are not the Bulls and their offense largely relies on the corner offense and uncontested 3s BECAUSE guys are chasing them around. I'm excited for this one, and not nearly as nervous as I was for the Clips with a lineup of DJ and Blake. That was HELL. Bogut, Lee, Draymond....Meh. Dwight's shoulders can handle any one of them. Rockets in 6. Peace.
what are YOU talking about??? Are you claiming first team all defence Tonny Allen and one of the best defensive pgs in the league in Conley are worse in defending Curry and Klay than what the Rockets have? Name me one single Rocket player that is capable of defending Klay Thompson as well as Tonny Allen did. Just because noone cares or mentions the Griz doesn't mean they were a joke or weak. "as evidenced in the 3-1 comeback" has nothing to do with downplaying other teams. The Grizzlies were the worst matchup for the Warriors. Now I hope the Rockets can overcome them but what you are doing is the worse kind of homerism. Other teams like the Grizzlies are great too.
Yes but Chandler had to cover Nowitzki's defensive blackhole. I think Bogut isn't the worst matchup for Dwight and certainly not worse than Jordan and I believe that in the end Dwight will score a lot and dominate him what I'm more concerned about is Bogut baiting Dwight into stupid fouls.
If there's one thing that I wish for our team, it's that we don't become complacent after winning this series. They can't be hungover from this win at any cost. We're only half way there and the satisfaction after this victory may be an issue.
and I bet you have no idea what other teams rosters consist of or haven't watched a single other team in the playoffs unless they play the Rockets. Baiting people and attacking them for voicing their arguments and concerns and participating in a constructive dialogue when you haven't even a grasp of the other teams strengths and weaknesses. Is a "ROCKETS ARE THE NO.1!!!!11 " the only acceptable answer someone as blind homer and provocative as you would accept?
Great post. Terry did not average 15 ppg this series, he barely cracked 10 ppg. A competitive Dallas team? Please. You mean the team with Grandpa Nowitzi, Monta Chucker, JJ Barrea, and Aminu who averaged 110 ppg? Don't forget they had no depth due to the Rondo trade and their star PG quitting on them and the Parsons injury hurt them as well. As for the Clippers, I think they were so battle tested and worn out from the Spurs in the first round that they could not close us out by the end of the series. The Clippers only had 1 extra day off since starting the playoffs while the Rockets had 6. Add in their lack of depth and CP3 injury which might have cost them game 2 and there you have it. That starting 4.5 can only do so much. The same Pelicans team that blew us out twice in the regular season? Or the one that was up by 20+ points against the Warriors with 3 minutes left in the 4th quarter AND LOST? Or was it the one with that player who averaged 31.4/11.4 and 3 blocks per game? I forget. I don't think you are giving that Grizzlies team enough credit. And whose fault is it that the Warriors got the first seed, swept their first round match, waited a few days, and beat their second round match? That's what you expect from a first seed team and that's exactly what they did. It is their reward for winning 67 games in the regular season. As much as I want the Rockets to win, without D-Mo's post scoring when Harden is out/struggling, or Beverley's defense against the MVP I think we have met our match.
Again, you are just kissing the Warrior's Butt like the majority. To answer your question about whether the 39-2 home record has ever been achieved.....the 86-87 Celtics were 40-1. Having said that, only losing 2 at home during the regular season is remarkable I'll concede. Yes we have 2 old PGs. That will be a mismatch for the Rockets in ANY round. Steph Curry will be tough to defend for sure, but who says we have to stop him? Steph Curry can and WILL very well get his (like CP3) but the key is to "allow" him to. The Rockets do have the Personnel to effectively D-up the rest of the team. Granted it's easier said than done, but it's a viable game plan. The Warriors as constructed was not planned. Steve Kerr came in and BAM the team becomes World Beaters? Nah, they took the whole NBA by surprise. I'll give them credit where due, but I will not herald them as all time greats.................they have a long way to go to be discussed in that echelon of teams. Remember when Steve Nash first joined the Suns in '05? Boy did they shock the world with their offensive efficiency. Granted that team didn't play a lick of defense, but the point is the shocked the league. Through time, teams figured out how to play them and more importantly beat them in the post season. The Warriors will not be THIS dominant after this year. They have had a GREAT GREAT run this year but every season, the NBA will adjust and they are no different. I'll take the Jordan Bulls or the '95 Rockets over the 2015 Warriors ALL DAY. Warriors are a conglomeration of untested players. Barbosa is the only significant veteran presence there if I'm not mistaken. So yeah, I'm not ready to crown the Warriors the GOAT like many here (including you are). You see, you think you're being "realistic", but you're just drinking the koolaid.
No not at all. I actually do watch other teams and am very familiar with the Rockets' shortcomings. What I don't get is why "fans" like yourself cower at the "Warriors" and essentially "mail it in" with the sentiment of your posts. You are NOT being realistic.......don't kid yourself. You're just scared. If the Rockets lose to the Warriors, it will not be without a good series fight. Warriors will not roll over the Rockets and we shall witness that come into fruition by the end of the series. Chicken little....
Man I don't mean to be rude but I think "Flop" is a warrior fan. I mean...May 2015? His username sounds like someone that despises Harden. He's given the Rockets 0 chance and his post pretty much sound like "All praise be to GSW." I mean we have some pessimistic fans here but they at least give us a shot after what we've seen before. I mean Malakas is a Bucks fan first I believe? So Flop man...it's alright to come out if you are a Warriors fan
Is it a coincidence that Curry and Thompson started playing well once Conley started wearing down and Allen got injured? I think not. I like how many people are looking over that. Rockets going to surprise folks once again. Rockets fans know though.
