Honestly I don’t think we can. Though what killed us last year; defense and turnovers have been impressively fixed, but it may still not be enough. All the games will likely be close and I am going to curse a streak at the TV. If we lose the Warriors will destroy the Cavs and I feel very confident Lebron will join Houston to take them down.
The more I look at the whole picture, my conclusion is we have a chance but it is not great. Maybe 30%. We may win a game or two, but I don't see us winning the series. They have four Hall of Famers. We have two. Plus, in the playoffs, our bench has disappeared. Overall, we never have looked as good as we did a month or two ago.
Agreed. Ryno is apparently unplayable. Gordon is shooting 35% in the playoffs. Nene looks well old. Green is inconsistent and Luc is coming off of injury. Thankfully Capela is looking like Olajuwon and Tucker like Elie/Horry. To get past GS we need to continue the awesome defense and low turnovers, no letdowns from Harden or Paul, Capela to continue to dominate defensively and for Gordon to play his best stretch of the year.
A reasonable analysis. We ALL want them to win, but several things have to come together. Yes, we won the series during the regular season, but the Rockets don't look like they did in the regular season, especially offensively.
On another note that defense has been incredible, defense wins championships offense will open up soon enough
You are right. The defense has been incredible at times during the playoffs. If the team can recover their offensive efficiency and sustain the defensive intensity, they will have a real chance.
I mean lets ask this one question though, are the Jazz better defenders then the Warriors, yes or no?
Agreed. Historically speaking I remember Ryno playing well against GSW and hitting some big buckets but he’s getting zero run (understandably) and his confidence has to be completely shot even if he gets PT again. In order to beat the Warriors 4 times we need Harden to play like he did in game 1 and we need CP3 and Clint to play at or near the level they did tonight in addition to other role players stepping up and making key plays. If and only then we might have a chance. That’s a lot to ask for honestly. I see a lot of people complain about the Warriors easy path to the playoffs and they’re not wrong but I’d argue ours has been just as easy. We’ve won by a lot and made it look pretty easy for the most part thus far but we should be winning like that considering our level of competition or lack thereof thus far. We’re not playing anywhere near our highest level. Too many mental lapses and our 3pt shooting has been inconsistent at best. If Harden has a game like tonight.... we’re definitely taking an L no matter how good the rest of the team is. Cautiously optimistic.
Would it be fair to say that there is a chance the offense hasn't looked as dominant is because they are playing the best Defense in the league? I think they have been missing shots and have been in a little funk overall, when everything is considered. But a little more has to do with the fact that Utah has a great defense.
Our defense looks great right now but some of that is just a crappy Jazz offense. All we have to do is guard the 3 point line and never leave Ingles open. That's it. No double teams. Make them drive to the basket or shoot contested 3's. Utah just doesn't have enough fire power to beat us if we do that. GS is a completely different challenge. It's not even close. Yes we can win but we are the clear underdogs.
