Have we cracked the Rim Protector + Stick to Shooters Defense?

There's a first time for everTHREEthing!

 

I think CP3 did what so many wanted, which was take the free throw jumpshots when it came time for them. He hit at least half of them. Couple bricks but I’d definitely bet he made more than 50%. So that in theory should be considered a good shot. Valuewise it’s the cheapest but what’s the value or measure of the ball going in the bucket versus forcing a 3? Driving into gobert’s reach?

How do you guard the rim, the 3 point line AND that free throw area? Is that even possible?

 

Games like this is great to have Chris on our team. Harden did get his and scored but they were defending us real close and they are a good at deflecting balls and scoring. I wanted to know if we had a game like tonight were harden wasn’t being too aggressive to the hole if we could win. I mean he got his points but he had a harder time this game.

Also Capela again didn’t play well. He has played average last couple of games and losing the ball or not finishing at the rim.
Like tonight he just ran without looking at the ball and the ball hit his leg on a tucker pass. Almost a turnover there.

When Capela and Tucker were in foul trouble I thought we were in trouble. But we went small and we actually went on a run.
The rockets played great defense. Though at times they stopped defending well.
Good game overall. Ryan, Paul and Ariza played great. Hopefully Gordon gets off his funk soon. Good thing is he still is going in and trying to score that way.

 

It's fun watching Cp3 hits those ft jumpers so easily, it's gonna be one of our bread and butter bail-outs when we can't shoot the three.

 

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I find lots to agree with here.

1. Having Paul made all the difference in the world. He can get shots for everyone.

2. Like you, when we went small, I thought we might get beat on the glass or that the Jazz might impose their will on the game. Far from it. . . We lured Favors out 26 feet from the basket . . . and Anderson kept making shots, from even further away. When he was out of the picture (literally), Harden and Paul could get any shot in the paint they wanted. The game went from an 8-11 lead to 23 in a flash.

I have a different take on Capela. Foul trouble shortened his night. That was far and away his best showing against Gobert. Black and Tucker were okay (+0 in their 26 minutes ) and that's a lot better than we've done in the past when Nene is out.

I think we could circle this game on the calendar as true sign of our team's maturity. Seeing that kind of effort on defense on the road looked so good.

 

Its fairly hindsight to say "if we get chris paul we will be good" then you see it and it's like "damn adding chris paul and we are pretty good"

I used to think it would be nothing but peaches& cream when we got barkley and then they are fighting over the left block.

When we signed pippen I thought the same. Then I thought same with howard. Turns out chemistry doesnt always just fit with star players.

Even when we got drexler the first 20 games there was a bit of this thinking of whether it would work.

So thats what makes this a tad crazy scary good. We are gelling quickly AND gelling in general. extremely good news.

At this point the biggest concern is injury and cp3- harden relationship dynamic.

The negative nancy in me worries how long harden can play nice and share. It may not matter if cp3 is going to come in and break 2nd units back like he is doing and genrerally just imposing his will too. Even if harden wants to be a baby in hardens shoes it has be hard not to smile seeing a team mate do that. I dont think hes THAT much a hater. Lets hope not.

 

Does 3FA stand for chuck saying “three frow attempts”

 

The best defense against the Rockets is what San Antonio did to us in the playoffs last year: keep the big man at home, always be ready to close out on the perimeter, and grab Capela on the pick'n'roll. The answer is to do what Chris Paul does which is to pull up for the 7-11ft jumper. When Harden does it he prefers the elbow jumper at 15-18ft. Either way you're forcing us into a close but still midrange jump shot, probably the least efficient shot we're gonna take.

In Houston they call the fouls to clog up the paint. Sometimes. That's why home court is so important.

 

I also like what Walton did, mixing up a couple decent looks against us and using their length to their advantage. Here's a good video breaking it down:



Bottom line: the Rockets have pretty much seen everything, and even with the Whistle-Swallowing home field advantage of Salt Lake they couldn't stop us. We bad.

 

I feel like those pull ups by Chris Paul are like layups for him, he will take that everytime if teams play us like that

 

Havent read the thread yet but they started the game with the “park pau at the rim and defend the perimeter” strategy the spurs employed last year.

With an elite defender like Gobert it’s smart, although without constantly spending longer than 3 in the key like the spurs did, it’s no wonder we were sluggish.

But it’s nice to have an added weapon to attack that defense and that weapon was the pull up in the paint “mid range” (sup @OTMax ) that ended up drawing Gobert out an extra 2-3 feet to contest that shot.

What this did was help open the lob, which they were defending very well early sagging back, and crest a sliver more space to drive; which we weren’t getting contact calls early but eventually led to more free throws as the game went on.

Then in the 3rd we just killed them finally with pace and the 3

 

Eye test analysis - didn't the overall ****-awfulness of Utah at shooting and the Rockets newfound ****-awesomeness at defensive boarding contribute to us getting into sets more quickly and a lot of quick opps before they could set up?

 

that's a well done, informative video. hard to believe a Lakers fan made it...

 

I put this in the midrange thread, too:

I admit that I didn’t think CP3 would be that much of an upgrade over what Bev brought as far as being the perfect complement to Harden. But after last night’s win against a red hot Jazz team, I see where his most significant contribution resides. It’s the mid-range!

The Rockets have been a well-oiled machine since last year. Threes, frees, and ease. Nothing in between. The Rockets offense thrives on this last year. That is until teams gave up the midrange. The Rockets seemed lost when the offense was forced in between the three-point line and the basket. It almost felt like a broken play. Actually, it probably was. Possessions like these forced Bev to take midrange shots, which probably felt foreign to him as they likely didn’t practice them enough.

With Chris Paul, there’s a sense of stability when the Rockets are only given midrange shots. He rocks one of the best midrange games in the league today. A combination of an excellent midrange shooting percentage and the savvy to keep the dribble alive in high-stress areas allow Chris Paul to have options in the midrange. He reads the defense so well. Take the shot he’s made a living off of, or pass the rock when the help defense makes its move. If everyone stays home, he’s got a nifty post game, too.

I’m very excited. There’s a lot to love about this team. We already knew about the potential of different combinations with the versatile players picked up in the offseason. It’s not only CP3 contributing in major ways to our early success. The Cerberus Rotation (Hounds of Houston?) of Ariza/Tucker/Mbah Moute is just as relentless on defense as the Harden/Paul/Gordon rotation is on offense. They can all make threes. And the two superstars also provide elite playmaking and emergency midrange stability. The Rockets are playing so well right now early I’m the experiment. Just wait until they figure it out. Scary.

 

I’ve mentioned it before that the teams overplaying/ defending vs the 3-pt shot in prior years (Cavs/GSW/SAS, etc);

Now those teams have to show concern with drives from Harden/Gordon off kick outs .....now add CP3/Luc MaM/Tucker/Ariza to that mix