Was possibly the best defense in the history of the NBA. Held this GS team under 100 in two consecutive wins. We shot horribly from 3pt range. Harden had an awful game. And yet we won. With this kind of defensive intensity we can win on any given night. Let's go Rockets!
thats what I am thinking Cp3 definitely made timely shots but the dude shot barely 30%.. he was probably more valuable on defense, but the rockets can play similar defense with luc and gordon..
I have a theory that the Rockets have lulled the Warriors into playing iso ball with no ball movement just by doing it themselves on the court for 48 minutes. If you stand around on defense doing nothing but just watching Harden and Paul dribble away then it's really hard to get going on offense with all the movement needed in the Warriors system. Especially when you're tired in the 4th quarter. You become jealous of the Rockets players just standing around catching their breath.
Amazing defense all around but specifically PJ Tucker and Eric Gordon had phenomenal defensive performances tonight.
We've turned this into an ugly, sloppy mess that's clearly getting to the Warriors. Frontrunning betas struggling when the game's not their "beautiful" basketball.
Don’t forget DAriza impact on the game and forcing steals and sticking to his man like glue. That foul that was called against him for being shoved was one of the most ridiculous and bias calls ever.
I'm just glad the narrative of "Well, if Houston gets really hot from three, they can make it a series." That narrative has died a fantastic death after these past two games. We won by just playing tough defense.
Yeah when it happened I called that "the worst call in history." Luckily though not a crucial moment.
And now Durant is getting called our for "disappearing." Hope he takes the bait and goes hero ball in game 6. It takes them out of their offense.
This. Pretty much. Durant gets a free pass for leaving OKC after the 3-1 choke because Westbrook is a ball hog. But Durant is a also a complete ball stopper on offense as well. It's the only thing they did in OKC. He doesn't know any better especially when he's pressured to make a play. He had ZERO ASSISTS tonight. The Rockets are baiting the Warriors into letting Durant run the offense and play iso ball. Kerr can't get Durant to play any differently than what's comfortable and routine. He even tried the Jordan speech. This is the beauty of Rockets version of iso ball. It has two point guards creating plays for all the shooters. Like that Harden pass to Gordon for the wide open three at the end. Durant doesn't do that as part of his game. He's not a playmaker. So his iso ball is detrimental to the team if his own shots are not falling.
Well you know he is not listening to Kerr if you saw him during the timeout. He is definitely going hero ball with Steph. They think they can shoot their way out of it. Harden just needs to revert to Harden from last year, become the playmaker, go to the hole every time in drive and kick. Please, please, please keep the TOs down. Rockets NEED to do this in 6. You can tell by the way the Warriors entire team is talking after the game that the Rockets have broke them. Kerr looked ill on the bench the whole 4Q. He knows...
All the preparation the organization has done to fine tune this team for the Warriors is finally paying off. Their offense is literally suffering under our tailor made defense. Their ball movement leads to turnovers because of the switches, forcing them to iso which further stagnates their offense.
This is what i've been saying the last couple years... defense is where we could most move the needle.... I kept getting crap about 'That's not today's NBA' and 'You're not gonna stop or slow down GS - you have to outshoot them...' lol Defensive effort like this does an old time fan proud!
With all due respect, we've had good defensive stretches this year .... but the intensity we've shown in the playoffs is unlike anything I've seen in a while . Our hustle and physicality is on another level. While the scheme remains similar , its execution is at a much higher level .
Anyone that said you beat a great shooting team like Golden State by trying to outscore them is really stupid. You have to play insanely good perimeter defense and have enough scoring to get the job done. This Rockets team has a perfect blend of both to make life hell for the Warriors.
Nailed it!!!! Controlling pace and defense have been key in every game. Both teams have benefitted from those 2 things going their way.
