Why are people assuming that this is a discussion about the Warriors being better/worse without KD? They have lost a talent, everyone knows that. The thread is about whether the Rockets will be unprepared for the Warriors squad that will play the rest of the series, even if it is worse than the version with Durant. 29-4 without Durant is a real thing. Even it is skewed or not all recent, that is a monstrous record. Sub .500 when Durant scores over 42 is a real thing (and allowing Durant to get "his" has been a part of our strategy). 3's are better than 2's is a real thing, and they will be taking more 3's via 2 of the best shooters in NBA history. It's something to keep an eye on. This team has been dog **** when they've been talked up, and excellent when they're under dogs. I'm just stating that this is a turning point game. This is where they decide their own fate, this is the universe giving them an opportunity to change. I hope we don't end up with MDA NOT taking advantage of our depth/talent, I hope Chris Paul accepts his decline and brings confidence, I hope James Harden did not burn out in the 3rd quarter of game 5. I look forward to it.
The switched up similarities to last year are crazy! I think that Golden State was fighting for their lives last night after the Durant injury and that is easier to do for the 4th quarter at home when the other team is taxed after coming back by 20 down. I think over the course of 2 games I have trouble seeing GS score a whole lot. We do a good job on Curry and Thompson and their isn't a lot left. Let them run their motion offense and then get tired. KEY is us being able to defend at a high level both games. We absolutely squandered last night but maybe this is how it is supposed to unfold. Chris Paul and Capela need to make an impact and how we utilize Tucker from here on out will be interesting. Harden is CLEARLY the best player on the floor at this point. I want to see him step up and get past GS. The players need it and the fans need it. I BELIEVE. Get it to game 7 and see what happens.
Make him score 30. If he does so be it but that means he’s taking 20+ shots and that’s a recipe for a 10+ win for us. We’re better than that Cavs team that won that title imo. This is our series if we lose it’s on us. We’re better than GS being down 2-3 is much better than a week ago coming back to Hou down 0-2. It’s not even comparable Last night We should have won we didn’t. Games 3-4 were must wins and we did it. We came through when nobody thought we would win more than 1 game. You got to realize that GS has to completely change the way they play on both sides in less than 48 hrs. They’ve been playing with KD for 3 years now this is going to be almost impossible for GS to win.
I think the move is: let Rivers and Paul go single coverage on Curry and whatever he gets he gets. Everyone else must be shut down. I don't think Curry has the playmaking ability to punish us enough in that situation. I don't think Klay can do a lot when we unleash Gordon and Tucker on him.
I put tucker on curry and trap him on screens and make him give the ball to green or iggy and let him score. We do that we’ll win by 10+
Honestly I don't see that working out. Green is a better playmaker, Iggy is a great playmaker. They won't shoot 20, they will create. Also, Curry is a unique superstar because he's lethal off the ball. That's how they won their title, he will get free off the ball through screens and speed and misdirection. When the ball is in Green's hands in the high post, he has Curry and Klay to pass to. He finds Iggy a lot, he hits the lesser role players perfectly with passes. He's never going to have the ball in his hands and try to create a shot, he knows it's not his game and unlike us their guys don't stand around when someone is setting up the offense. I'd rather the ball is in Curry's hands and if he drops 40 it's fine, much like we did with KD. With Tucker and Gordon taking turns on Thompson, I'm sure they can keep him in check.
No way the Rockets underestimate the Warriors. Will they play "scared" though? Not sure, i hope not but eh, 4th quarter of the last game is not exactly promising...we'll see, one thing is for sure, just because Durant is out there's no guarantee it's going to be easier, Durant didn't play or didn't finish a game two times against us this season, and we lost both times, also, the Warriors until they had Durant kicked our ass for free for years, we play a different defense now, but again, two games without Durant -> 2 Warriors wins.
When you say unprepared are you meaning we may be unprepared for the change of their style or plan/game plan? Or are you saying we’re possibly going to relax now that he’s out? What was our record last year when CP3/Capela/Harden all played? Not a rhetorical question I’m actually asking...if I recall we were like 50-3 or something crazy. The thing is we had a different team last year...just like the Warriors have a different team this year than the past two years when they put up that 29-4 record (KD only missed 4 games this year). On top of that this is the playoffs and they’re playing the one team that’s given them ANY resistance since KD arrived. The 29-4 record is irrelevant just as that 50-3 or whatever it was record is irrelevant at this point. And while 3s are more than 2s, their defense and rebounding is going to take a huge hit with him out.
That team that kicked our ass was much deeper and our team is much better than it was back then. If they were going to play scared/quit, they would have done it game 3 when we were down 2-0 and blew the big lead while a certain someone brought GS back...
Just stop. Saying a KD'less team is to worry more than the man scoring 40+ and getting on fire... Just stop. Now if the worry here is that the Rockets won't give 101% like they supposed to, even after being eliminated the last 3 playoffs in a row by the same team? Well, then I just won't be a Rockets fan anymore. Plain and simple.
I'm saying James Harden and Chris Paul-led teams do not perform well when favored, and they perform tremendously when they are underdogs. It is a psychological pattern that they have to break. Last season was something crazy, this season it's not that crazy. Don't know the numbers but someone dug them up earlier in the season. Clint Capela has been a liability in this series. If your argument is about recency, then it's hard to rely on a stat that has a declining CP3 and a slumping Capela in it whereas none of the Warriors are in the age group where they would decline. Their backcourt seems to be coming out of a slump. Not really, his rebounding has been atrocious and a subject of concern among Warriors fans. His defense has been good and their replacement won't be able to replicate it. They will luck into better non-KD offensive production, if you look at their games without him you can clearly statistically see that's what's going on.
The Rockets win that game if CP3 has a below average game. He had his worst playoff game of his career. The Rockets just need to show up and they will have a good shot at beating GSW.
Yes, they do. No doubt about it, but there’s one thing we won’t have to face. Durant shooting over everyone guarding him. That’s a plus, no matter how you look at it, in my opinion. We better be working on dealing with the Oakland team we’ll face, because we sure didn’t close the game out in the 4th, and we weren’t ready after Durant went out. Whether that was psychological, dead legs, a quick adjustment not made by MDA, bad luck, bad calls, all of it, or some voodoo priestess in their locker room laying a curse on us, it doesn’t matter. We better be ready.
On your first point, we’ve won every playoffs series we have been favored by Vegas since CP3 got here. In fact, we’ve won every playoff series we have been favored in other than Portland with Harden since he got here. Regarding our record last year, that was my point was that last year doesn’t matter. Neither does regular season stats or records. The fact that they went 29-4 without KD back in 2016 and 2017 means little to nothing now. Not that it matters but Iguadola is 35 years old so I’d say he definitely qualifies. Livingston isn’t a spring chicken either. And it’s not necessarily about his rebounding...it’s the minutes Livingston will be playing instead of him. You think he’s a better rebounder than KD? It’s also taking another three point threat off the court regardless of whoever gets those minutes so we can basically leave Draymond, Iggy AND Livingston/Looney wide open giving us extra body to rebound...
