Their new starting lineup is: Curry Thompson Iguodala Durant Green They have 5 guys who thrive in transition, 3 guys who can play point on any given possession, 3 guys who are elite shooters from mid-range and 3, and 3 or 4 guys who are excellent moving without the ball. How should the Rockets match up against this lineup? I'm thinking this: Ariza on Curry Paul on Thompson Harden on Iguodala Tucker on Durant Capela on Green Switch everything, as usual. The biggest key to our defense may be our execution/spacing on offense. Minimize bad shots out of the flow of the offense and live ball turnovers, as those are fast break starters.
Totally agree with the lineup matchups. On offense I want to see if they can stop a heavy dose of Capela inside. If we can get to the rim with regularity, I think it will play a huge part in the Rockets success.
just the worst nickname assigned to the 5 biggest losers in all of sports..after we destroy this garbage team, you won't hear of this ridiculous nickname ever again.
I disagree, I was thinking: CP on Curry Ariza on Thompson Harden on Durant Tucker on Green Capela on Iggy CP's best matchup is Curry so he can't be brutalized down low, meanwhile Ariza would be best chasing Thompson around (so I can see why you had him on Curry). Tucker actually doesn't move the greatest laterally at this age (it's surprising how effective of a defender he is despite this) & is too physical to guard Durant (would probably get baited into foul trouble), his thicccness & physicality would be best for the cheapshot artist. I would welcome Draymond to do his shenanigans to Tucker. Heh. Heh. Capela is best on Iggy since he can't shoot well, so Capela can still patrol the paint. Draymond has history of shooting well, despite this year. This puts Harden on Durant, which doesn't make sense in a vacuum. But consider: 1) Durant doesn't move off the ball well, something Harden doesn't defend well at too. 2) Capela has rim protection when guarding Iggy, can help for Harden, allowing him to press up more. Make Iggy beat you. 3) Harden is familiar with Durant's shenanigans probably from the Thunder days. TBH, Rox will switch everything so individual matchups won't matter that much tho.
4 HOF playmakers vs 2 HOF playmakers. We need to find a way to keep Capela on the floor for this matchup. He can be the key to unlock perimeter shots for Tucker and Ariza. I suspect the Warriors will try to make Capela a passer and prevent Harden or Paul from getting the ball. Capela needs to be aggressive and attack the basket and force the Warriors to foul him.
The Hamptons 5/Lineup of death would be more dangerous but Ryan Anderson is not even a rotation player anymore. That lineup wasn't that great in the regular season. +5 vs. +20 when you put in Magee. I know that this lineup has wrecked it durign the playoffs over 37 minutes but it's against 2 teams that don't really play small ball well - the Pelicans stubbornly stuck with Mirotic for 33 minutes per game, the entire series, and the Spurs are terrible at it. That's just not going to have the same effect when PJ Tucker and Luc Mbah a Moute can play spot duty at center.
This is probably the best way to counter that starting lineup. The Rockets will switch of course but Harden cannot start possessions on Klay he is going to lose him a lot off ball. As weird as it sounds starting off on Durant is a better bet. Durant usually comes off of pins downs or iso which Harden is better at defending. If Durant goes into the post then I'll take my chances with Harden guarding him. Durant's length in the post really cant be countered by anyone on our team, so at least Harden's strength could force him off his block into a tougher shot (again you can really just hope when talking about an elite scorer like Durant) Its going to be interesting how this works out. Iggy did not play in the two games that Houston won and he is another play maker who has a knack for making timely plays. He isn't a good shooter but he hits the shots that matter. Green has shot the ball well, but again you have to live with Green or Iggy hitting from the outside vs the other guys of course. It will be interesting to see how well Curry actually will be. The extra days off will help him (and Harden too) and he may be like 90 or 95% but the Rockets need to run a lot of guard PnR to get him switched onto Harden or Paul in ISO and make him work defensively. The Cavs did that a lot and it worked in the 2016 finals. The Warriors did end up countering later on but expect Draymond and/or Iggy to roam defensively. Tucker is going to have to continue his improved shooting to keep them honest.
The biggest match up I want to see is PJ vs Draymond. Both are physical smallball centers. Both play with intensity, and both are defensive minded. Draymond likes to get physical with guys & kinda punk them into playing scared. I don't think you can punk PJ Tucker. PJ is the best possible match up against Draymond. If we can neutralize Green, I think we increase our chances of winning by ALOT. KD will score. Curry will hit crazy shots with Klay. But if we can stop Draymond from going crazy I like our chances Can GS matchup with OUR smallball lineup CP James Gordon Luc PJ This lineup is more dangerous than you think
"Let's make something clear. This one here's our booty! You wanna get to IT, you go through us! Or more accurately... We go through you!!" ―Rocket Raccoon to the Warriors Rocket River
Ryno I hope would get some decent PT this series. If there's a series he can be effective in and actually get his shots off....it would be this one. Against the Wolves and especially the Jazz, that proved to be a really big challenge. I expect Ryno to come back a bit and have some semblance to the good Ryno we've seen...
