in the press conf mchale insisted that we lost because we lost the rebounding battle and we couldnt score in the paint. rebounding, i agree. and that is true for most team in most games. but if by "scoring in the paint" he meant throwing the ball to dwight and letting him post up, then its a dumb game plan. to me that's just not knowing your players and how to utilize them in a good way. even b4 the game i was worried about this.
The issue is not the actual defensive principles. I can assure you on that. The issue is the IQ of the players and the lack of energy, which is surprising, because we have a lot of veterans on the team. Josh Smith does not put his hands up on a jump shot. He really is not doing that bad on the perimeter with lateral movement, but he just loses focus on the little things. Typical Josh Smith. Jason Terry seems to forget that he shouldn't switch the PnR when it is with Dwight. And he forgets to box out Curry twice. Brewer gambles. It may work against the 76ers, but the Warriors are too disciplined for that. I like Ariza. I like Dwight. They are locked in. This is why I can't really ever get mad at Ariza. Harden's an idiot and lazy on the defensive end. For the narrative that Harden has improved his defense this year, it has relapsed this playoffs. Jones is like a lost puppy out there sometimes. It's like he forgets the defensive gameplan. Sometimes he switches, and other times he forgets. Capela can fall into the Jones category, except worse. I am high on him, and he is a rook, so it is expected. But he brings energy. He's trying, and I like it. People just stand around on defensive rebounds. Dwight can't box out everybody guys. Going for a shot contest and getting the board is very hard. Is there a chance Green, for example, will get a bucket on Terry from a switch? Yea, he will. NBA teams will score the ball. But the main issue with the Rockets is not how they approach the defensive game plan, but how they execute it. There is not a game-plan that can fix dunks off made buckets, and wide open layups from inbound plays. Coaching cannot fix stupidity, especially when these guys have shown better discipline before. tl;dr The actual principle is not killing us, it is the players. We have the ability, but just are not executing it well. I mean, Dwight was the best player for the Rockets last night. But that's not what McHale was talking about. Scoring in the paint does not only mean post-ups. It is an illustration of a stagnant offense that is not attacking the lane, making cuts to the basket, or finishing strong at the basket.
I was thinking to myself that we should probably run box and 1 on Curry, or atleast man up curry and never leave him. Switch on all picks with Curry specifically so that he never gets a wide open look. You've got to know where he is at all times. Not sure you can run box and 1 in the NBA but the idea of always having a defender on Curry no matter where he's at just seems to be the only way of cutting the head off the snake.
THIS+++ We are lacking shooters big time. The fact that this team relies so heavily on Harden is a testament to his greatness and how far we got here with him. Curry doesn't even break a sweat getting his points, on the other end, Harden is grinding and grinding to get the Rockets points. There needs to be a major adjustment to the system or we need to get the personel to support Morey's 3 and FT system.
Jason Terry's effort is pretty strong here. I think he's maxed out on what you're going to get from him on defense. And he fouls a lot too. Just because they call it occasionally, doesn't mean it's not happening. If you watch the game film, Terry's pretty much trying to hold on every possession. He's just working his ass off trying to stick with Curry. This team just needs an a full season together (or smarter players, or probably both) to become a well-oiled defensive machine. It might also need a detail oriented defensive coach, but the head assistant assumes that teaching role here. This. The Rockets are pretty streaky here, and their mean is not good. Harden also stagnates at times vs. a set D, which doesn't work against a great defense.
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Pretty much everything I've been saying. GS runs a beautiful offensive system that is very tough to defend as it is, and we've complicated it further by trying to switch everything. Watching the Rockets try not to make mistakes on switches and help defense is like watching them try to navigate a maze. Meanwhile, McHale runs an offense where guys just stand around and watch Harden dominate the ball. Very easy to defend in contrast. The cherry on top is the horrific spacing demonstrated by the Rockets on offense ok Harden drives. It's so much easier to collapse the paint when you have TJ, and his defender, standing 6 feet from the bucket. If you're going to run Harden ISOs and PnR all day then at least have everyone but Harden and Dwight ABOVE the 3 point line. TJ is never going to do anything with the ball in that spot anyways. Pointless spacing.
I agree. The switching is causing all kinds of mismatches. I think the Rockets feel that they can defend three's better this way but it's killing us. How about trapping instead and playing everything straight up?
I might just watch these from now on and avoid mainstream media. I can do without the hyperbole and God proclamations from ESPN. Just straight up analysis. That what and how is all that's needed.
