[BBALLBREAKDOWN] Can HARDEN & CP3 Propel The ROCKETS To The FINALS?

Lol at the comments. No one has confidence in the Rockets.

Can't blame them though. Had KD not joined the Warriors, this would have been a fantastic series.

 

Morey ball wins.

 

Very good, level headed analysis. None of this crap like rockets don't play defense, or the rockets favor high pace, or the rockets are exclusively 3s and layups. I think one aspect he missed is how deadly the rockets can be in transition. That is 100% predicated on defense. If the rockets can lock down and get easy shots in transition they could turn the tide quickly... but, the warriors aren't a slouch in the transition game either (both offense and defense).

 

https://clutchpoints.com/western-conference-finals-preview-warriors-vs-rockets/

Shout out to @durvasa for the find

 

If KD is not on the Warriors, we would sweep these fools to hell. No KD this year mean's they're scrapping with the Blazers and Jazz around 50 wins.

 

Did you forget that this core won 73 games just 2 years ago?

 

IMO, the series comes down to which team can maintain a high level of focus the longest. Houston can do it, but has more variance than GSW. That is why people are more skeptical. Should be a fun series to watch.

 

Did you forget, steph curry's ankles and MCL are now made of glass, in no small part because of all the burn he got that season?

he missed 31 games this year while sharing the load with Durant...increase the usage of Curry and I don't see that number going down much, and I don't think a Draymond Green-Klay Thompson led offense is scary to a lot of people

 

I really think its as simple as who hits their threes.

 

This. Making 3s erases so much else. If Harden and CP3 or if guys like Gordon,LMAM, Tucker, Green, and (hopefully) Ryno are hitting consistently enough, we have an excellent shot.

 

So? CP3 missed 24 games this year. Does it mean we're doomed?

Since coming back from his injury, Curry has put up 22 points and 44% from 3pt despite the rust. I'm sure they would have been fine.

 

And he's holding steady at 0 ppg on 0% shooting in the 36 regular season and playoff games the Warriors missed.

Like I said, no Durant during those 36 games - the Warriors very obviously are worse. That's hardly a controversial position to take.

 

That 73 win Warriors team is much deeper than this year's Warriors if you take KD away. Besides, Curry wasn't hurt for 31 games that year. Without KD, this year's Warriors is probably going to win around 50 games, which has a lot to do with the number of injuries they had and doesn't really mean that they're just a 50 wins team, just like the Jazz, when Jazz is healthy, they're a 55-60 wins caliber team.

The main differences KD makes is in the playoffs. That 73 win Warriors team had the best regular season record in the history of NBA, but they lost 10 playoff games; Last year's Warriors with KD lost only 1. If the Warriors have Barnes instead of KD, I won't say we can sweep them, but we definitely have a clear edge over them.

 

I feel like the GSW's defense this year is a tad overrated.

I think statistically they are doing the best in the playoffs, per possession. And they were still very very solid in the regular season. But the playoffs number is "mostly" off the first round, where SAS scored 92, 101, 97, 103, 91. Sure, possessions were probably lower that series, and higher against NOP, and the Pelicans didn't exactly hit 110's+ every game... but they also aren't the Rockets offense

This will probably come back to bite me in the ass... but I'd actually encourage running PnR where KD is out on an island with Harden. Not as much with CP3, but even that occasionally. But with Harden, no doubt KDs length will be impactful, but in general multiple times a game I don't think KD really wants to be putting that type of defensive effort in. He's better as an overall team defender, where he is indeed really good. For the Hampton's lineup, in terms of guys I'd like to see Harden go at, it'd be (1) Steph, (2) KD, (3) Iggy, (4) Klay, (5) Draymond

Clearly though this will be a tough matchup.

As I've said many times... this will come down a lot to the POSSESSIONS game. We need more than them. Fewer turnovers. Solid rebounding (plays into the Capela angle... can he stay on the floor). This is the #1 key to me.

 

So all the burn Curry had in 15-16 didn't result in any significant missed time in 16-17, but is totally to blame for all the games he missed in 17-18? He only played 34mpg that season anyway. Harden and Lebron play significantly more minutes and have higher usage but seem to be holding up just fine.

If Curry had normal wear and tear injuries you might be onto something, but his injuries were clearly due to freak accidents. Why blame his minutes from two years ago for his MCL strain instead of, I dunno, Javele McGee crashing into his leg on an attempted block? His first injury this year was turning his ankle on someone's foot. That's just going to happen in bball.

 

I believe it still will be but you’re right. KD ruined the NBA and it’ll always be a **** stain on his career. He’s realized this and that’s why he such a whiny b**** now.

 

Sure, it can be whatever I want to happen, it's a hypothetical non-Durant on Warriors universe that has been conjured for the purpose of BBS speculation.

I decided that in my non-Durant on Warriors universe, everything else is the same, and Curry is going to miss 31 or more games like he did in our branch of the multiverse due to the cumulative effect of his injuries piling up and just plain old getting older.

I think this makes the Warriors not as good.

 

They lost some very important pieces from their 73 win team to get KD.

Barnes Bogut Ezili. How good would they be if they had to Max Harrison Barnes instead of getting KD.

 

There are so many videos on how to stop the Rockets and very few on how to stop the Warriors. That's annoying.