I doubt they can, or even would if they could. The Jazz's scheme was entirely dependent on having an All-World defender in the paint to prevent penetration. Gobert is the ONLY reason guys like Rubio were able to neutralize the step-back by literally humping Harden from behind. At this point, Bogut isn't even half as effective as Gobert, and he'll barely be on the court half as often as Gobert was. On top of that, I think GSW has too much hubris to deploy a strategy as unconventional as what the Jazz used. Committing to a scheme like that is a tacit admission that your defense is simply not effective enough. While the best defense is the one that stops the other team from scoring, I get a sense that the Warriors would perceive it as "resorting to gimmicks" instead of relying on their talent and teamwork. And since they believe that they're the most talented and most cohesive team, they're not going to dramatically modify their scheme for anyone (even someone as effective as Harden). I could see them trying some of the stuff that the Bucks used against Harden. But, they'll most likely adopt the "stick with what got us here" approach -- especially in the most crucial moments of the game when the stakes are highest. And you can't really blame them, since here is three rings in four years. I'm hopeful, though, that they've regressed just enough in terms of depth, cohesion, and age that we can finally topple them.
yup. plenty of red flags the entire year that show this GS team just isn't on the same level as previous years. It has carried over to the playoffs at the worse time. They thought they could continue to just flip the script when they want and teams will just rollover. Not happening this year. its only a matter of time when the Rockets knock them out in the duration of the next 2 weeks
