To counter Hampton 5 let's Rockets start G-league 5 (Chiozza, Duval/Vincent Edwards, House, Clark, Hartenstein)........... jokes apart only viable option to try is to start Capela/Fareid together and let Gordon come from bench. Eric Gordon came from bench first 5 games during last year's WCF and we're leading 3-2...give him same playing time or more but bring him off the bench.
You know, like that episode of Seinfeld where Costanza does everything opposite to what his instinct tells him and his life actually starts turning around positively... Whatever TMAC thinks you should do, do the opposite.
Like it pr not it's no why around it...Clint is a big piece. He cant just hide. He must play better..stay with him. Maybe at home he gets juice. But we dont win with our 4th best player not even contributing.
I would play Rivers more but only if he has the hot hand. He’s a really underrated defender and he can provide scoring when he gets in a rhythm. He’s streaky, though. Regardless, I don’t think it’s a good idea to go smaller when the Rockets are giving up so many second chance points. HS was absolutely killing us with second chance points when we had a small lineup. Regarding Capela, I’d play Nene more and let him go to town inside. He’s so damn big he can’t be pushed around by Green and other taller players. I’d also give s lot of minutes to Faried since he has more of an offensive game than Capela. He can still go up for the lobs but he can also knock down jumpers and drive in the layups. His drives to the bucket are much more decisive and quicker than Capela’s. If he gets an open lane he knows what to do, whereas Capela just stands there trying to pass it. This makes it easy for the Warriors to defend against the Rockets offense.
Capela has been taken out of his game the past 2 yrs vs Warriors. There is a reason they go to that Hampton 5 lineup they know teams just don't have the personnel to matchup with them. I've heard people say being able to pound the Warriors inside might be the way to beat them but you can't do that if you are getting torched on the defensive end by those 3 elite scorers.
Is starting Rivers over Capela the answer? Who knows. What I do know is the Rockets were outscored in the 1st quarter by 9 points in both Game 1 and Game 2, which ended up being the difference in the game. Either we go big with Capela/Faried/Tucker to dominate the boards or go small with the Tuckwagon lineup to maximize spacing and shooting. I just wish we tried one of these options legitimately BEFORE being down in an 0-2 hole. Now we're stuck in a scenario where we have to desperately experiment, knowing that this is basically an elimination game. Way to be proactive D'antoni!
This. Guys, we lost 2 on the road against a tough team in a tough building with tough officiating. Now we play in our building. Game 3 is not the time to go away from the essential building blocks of your game and hope some untested hail mary is going to bail you out. Capela is a good player. Maybe tweak the game plan to use him differently, but use him. Trust that he will find a way to be effective.
Yeh, but not like that. Capela Faried Tucker Harden Rivers Nene House Green Gordon Paul Make our starters defense and energetic for rebounding, with less opps for Harden/CP3 together turning it over early. Then our bench is potent with players that can jab, make plays, and hit 3s. Sure, the rotations get mixed a lot after Q1 anyways, but this would be my change. Before his injury, I think Faried played very well with the starting unit. He "can" be exposed on D, but ultimately having athleticism in there and popping Tucker over to the 3 has other advantages. It won't happen, but wtvr. I'm not saying my ideas would win a title lol, just that what were doing hasn't worked well for 5 games and we need to adapt since were losing.
Whatever adjustments need to be made, Rockets can't afford to go down 3-0. There is really no way to get an edge over GSW starting 5. Anything to improve the offense leaves the defense worse. So maybe limit the damage and try to make up for it with the bench output. In that sense, improved rebounding should be the focus. GSW can't be allowed to get multiple cracks at it. They are lethal enough as is. Should bench either Capella or EG for any one that can provide improved rebounding.
Faried played really well against the Warriors when they loaded up on the Rockets guards out on the perimeter. The difference between Faried and Capela is that one is too slow and lacks the ball handling skills and jumper to shoot or drive to the bucket, and the other can actually drive the lane and shoot a little, much like Green for GS. Basically GS is defending us the same way we’re defending them. When we double or press on the perimeter with Curry, Durant, or Thompson, we’re basically daring Green to shoot. To a certain extent we’re giving other players free looks as well. If the lane is open Green drives, but if not he usually hands the call off. Whereas, Capela can’t do anything when you take away the lob pass, and he’s not strong enough to keep Green out of the lane. Green can’t push Nene around, though. So, I think it would be a a good move to give Nene and Faried more minutes. I doubt MDA makes any changes, though. I suspect he’ll bank on the fact that we play better at home and go with what got us here.
