Am I crazy or did we almost never find a way to switch Lopez onto Harden? I think that's the key to busting that defense open, aside from role players hitting wide open 3's. Not only can Harden cook Lopez 1 on 1, but it brings him out of his camping shelter in the paint.
Tucker 1-8 Harden 1-9 Gordon 0-5 That is the ball game right there. No Green Threes fall we win They don't we don't 2 - 22 Less than 10% How often do you expect this to happen again? Rocket River
Seriously We bricked at least 10 WIDE OPEN 3's I'm talking like all-day open . Gotta shoot a little better . Also , I'm not worried about how our offense looked . I'm worried that we don't have a strategy when the refs come to **** us When harden is getting hammered like that with no call , we've got to escalate . Put in nene and have him kill someone . Either the refs call the game correctly or it spirals out of control
hit 5 and we win It really is not that hard Skipping them to take contested 2s does not solve the problem Cause the moment someone passes up an open three . . the offense dissolves in to chaos The rotations back are **** . . . . .. . . Do we want PJ driving hard to the basket I love PJ but I won't even know if he can dunk the ball Rocket River
This isn't anything revolutionary and is something that can be addressed in a 7 game series. There are a few things that would have to be different. The Bucks deserve some credit for the Rockets shooting woes, but the reality is that the Rockets missed a number of shots that would usually go in. That is the biggest difference in the game. Second, the Rockets can push some in transition and that would cause issues. The Bucks are a very good defensive team, but they can be caught flat footed. I compare the Rockets last year and the second half of this season. The first half of this season was full of injuries and a scary lack of depth. The Rockets from last year and the second half of this season have won over 75% of their games and the reason for that is in part that the Rockets get free throws and forced turnovers. So when the Rockets go cold, the free points are usually enough to make up the difference with solid defense. Last night, the Rockets did not get the free throws or shoot well..... that is almost a guaranteed loss. The Rockets had something like 7 free throws, that is extremely low.
It was good practice I appreciate PJ is in a tough position He's going all out vs giannis on one end and STILL has to have energy to make 3's That's a tall task . But it's probably what we will need from him later on in the playoffs .
Traditionally, playoff defenses will slow down transition and defend the lane better. Bucks are not a GSW offense — Warriros never really need Post offense or drives. Bucks are ripe for defenses taking away Giannis — 19 pts from him isn’t going to cut it. And Philly, Bos, TOR can get Lopez out of the lane, without giving up size. (That’s not as big an issue for us, because Capela pinning Lopez at the rim gives Harden the floater/oop that makes Bud send Giannis to help off the shooters.) On the plus side, Bucks have the best defense in the East. It could offset their offense coming to a crawl, having to rely on 3pt shooting more than they want to.
They definitely need to tighten up the counter attacks. The hammer is heavy, we get it....but at least have a counter for the things you KNOW are coming. Full court pressure keying on Harden? Someone else bring ups the rock. Their plan is busted immediately and you won't have lazy inbounds pass turnovers. Double team at half court on Harden? If teams are going to play 4 on 3, our power play game needs to be a layup drill. They kind of let the Bucks get into them defensively. Hitting 3s obviously would've been nice but you've also got to have willing shooters to bury daggers in opponents chests. Hesitating because you don't have an "open shot" like, those aren't going to be abundant in the playoffs. They're going to have to make them 3s over a few hands.
Manage the shot clock, dictate pace better. It's hard enough for us to hit shots, forcing a shot off with < 5 seconds left on the clock doesn't make it any easier. Design more catch-and-shoot plays for either CP or Harden. Preferably quickly when defense is still setting up. Set screens on the full length of the court. Eric Bledsoe guarding Harden or even CP as soon as he gets the ball in-bounded was a huge disruption to the flow. We should also try to use the elevator door sliding screens on half-court offense to maximize the forced switches. If PJ can't be consistent from 3, he's got to contribute some other way... Tell him to set screens and get rebounds instead and stop the freaking air-balls. Have a decent rotation for 5-spot. I.e., use Hartenstein when Capela is obviously tired and not going up for rebounds or lobs.
Highest priority: You simply have to have ways to get Harden free no matter what the defense is against him. Harden has all the offensive tools; he can probably figure it out if he's not completely locked down. "Make shots" is not an answer. Well, it is, but the Rockets will never win a championship hanging everything on that. Some nights...many nights *sigh* ...our "shooters" would have an easier time climbing Everest than putting a ball through the hoop. And they know it, which is why you see this awful offensively-destructive passing up shots and winging the ball to other better-defended players, often leading to turnovers in the process. I appreciate our OP trying to come up with solutions other than "make shots." I wish I had better solutions. I'd say, Tucker, Shumpert, Rivers, Gordon, etc...if you don't want to take threes or can't make them, do what Harden did and develop a short-to-midrange floater as your backup. Of course, he has a dozen or more backups, but you guys owe it to him and the team to have at least one.
Wanted to put this up since I thought it was a really good video to show not only what the Bucks did but how Dantoni will most likely counter this were we to see the Bucks in the finals. @BigMaloe Think you'll appreciate this.
Good video. I think he over exaggerated the mental aspect for sure. Nice addition to things or sets to counter this defense with the empty strong side sets and off ball decoys. Thanks for the share
