You gotta admit, there's something to love about a stagnant, predictable offense that scores 113 ppg.
I thought this was a good read about what happened to the offense. Someone else posted here before me but not in this thread. https://www.si.com/nba/2017/04/25/james-harden-houston-rockets-nba-playoffs-three-point-shooting
Nothing.... they chase us off the line we have to drive and make plays..... its a pick your poison type of deal.... but Rockets have to make them pay.
The offense is doing what it's always been designed to do. D'Antoni also added that they've been a bit more tired than usual because, paraphrasing him from his Game 5 postgame conference, "they're not used to playing defense".
Wow... This play right here, used in this article, is everything that is great about Harden, and everything that goes overlooked by casual fans that only think big dunk = bigly oohs and ahhs. The slow to fast acceleration at the top of the 3 line The behind the back pull back The hesitation and go in deep traffic Working back to his left hand and finishing with english off the low corner of the backboard These things each by themselves are extremely difficult and he weaves them all together in a way that looks basic.
Combination of several things 1) playoff intensity defense 2) some of our shooters struggling 3) harden injured/off 4) a bit extra caution added Overall I'm not too worried given that harden can get healthy / find his form . OKC did a great job making him into a scorer and took away some 3 point passing options.... Which if harden is gonna average 40 then that's fine . We have to take what the defense gives us , and we will get better at adapting to taking midrange 2's ( harden , Eric , and Lou ) Ryan sucking a pile of ass didn't help and hopefully will turn around . I think we will be OK , I'm not sure it's going to be enough firepower to gun with GS but that is a tall task anyways.
Man it's beginning to look like whenever we look at other players in the league and wish them come to play here they usually stink it up (Howard now Anderson) You guys really think Morey would look to trade him this early or it's a bad look for FA's?
and has the 4th best offensive rating in the playoffs behind Cleveland, GS, and San Antonio if we weren't shooting like Corey Brewer and Sam Dekker from beyond the arc then our offense would've looked a lot different, Ryno had an embarrassing series and guys like Harden and Ariza couldn't hit a damn thing from three
And yet this predictable team just beat one of the best rebounding and defensive teams in the league in 5 games.
The offense was fine they just missed wide open looks. We averaged 113 on a team as long and athletic as the thunder
He needs to stop rushing his shots, they seem to be kind of flat lately. Maybe Bullard can show him a thing or two. We need that spacing plus those 3pts when he makes them.
hahahahha that is absolutely hilarious. Dantoni seems like a real down to earth chill guy, but i was happy to see him barking late in the game when we had some mental mistakes and gave up way too many rebounds of missed free throws
It's great experience and so early in the playoffs. I'm glad we swiftly and emphatically answered the question: "what happens when teams take away the 3 and slap an elite defensive guard on Harden". The type of defense OKC played is very similar to the way the Warriors guard us, except when the Warriors frontcourt is Green/Durant/Iguodala they have much more defensive talent. OKC is the 10th best defensive team, while Spurs and Warriors are 1 and 2 so it's very good practice.
I think it is so terribly ignorant to say that the Rockets were not running sets. It's insulting to the team and the coaching staff. Houston's plays were being blown up by OKC's aggressive defense. OKC was well prepared for Houston's offense. OKC did this to Golden State last year and forced Klay and Steph (mostly Klay) to make very difficult long shots to win that series.
It got stalled against an above average defensive team, admittedly good defensive team at times. Wait for the elite ones.
Okc have a abundance of long lengthy players. Like their entire roster was built that way outside of Norris Cole. The length was troublesome but the bigger issue was we didn't hit threes we typically make.
I'd say the offense was just fine considering two of the starting 5 were no shows all series Trevor Ariza suddenly became Jamal Crawford at his worst with his bricking and Ryhno just became a p***y. All things said, teams scout you in the playoffs and you can't expect to have the same level of offense. It's the defense which usually steps up come playoff time and Rockets D was big time
This is just a testament to how tough and adaptable the Rockets were this series. I'm impressed they found a way out of their "comfort zone" to get it done...in 5 games no less. Beating an NBA team in 5 is not easy..I don't care who it is. But I have to say, the 4-1 discrepancy is a bit misleading to the box score fan. This series was tough and hard fought. Thunder are incredibly tough on rebounds and they have the athleticism and length for defensive versatility. They shut down the Rockets' 3-point barrage and executed their scheme pretty well from what I could tell. Thank God Ego and Lou and of course Harden are ELITE at driving in the paint and finishing.
