It was not untested versus the Grizzlies. You must hae really missed the series to say something like that. It took a brilliant move by Kerr( and his assistant) to overcome the Grizz. Just because they didn't face an elimination game doesnt' mean they havent' been tested. They responded before they had to face an elimination game. After all you have to lose 3 games to reach that point. Just because you are a homer Rocket fan doesn't mean you have to downplay the opposition you know.
Rockets lead the NBA in 3 point defense at 32.2% allowed. Steph Curry can score 50 for all I care as long as Iggy, Dray and the others are not allowed to go off from 3 point land. If you take care of the ball and limit GSW's fastbreaks they are very beatable. There are usually 2-3 GSW quick runs within the game that kill opponents. They'll go on a 9-0 run in about a minute and a half. If you take that away from them then you stand a very good chance, because Golden State relies heavily on hitting jumpers, whereas the Rockets can score in a myriad of ways.
Nope, I'd put Terry on him and hope he d's up like he has the last 3 games. You need Ariza to keep their wings in check. Steph and Thompson can't beat the Rockets by themselves.
The Key is Dwight. I agree with the thought that if Jordan couldn't contain him than Dwight is going to feast. How many 20 rebound games has he had this post-season? He's gonna have a few in this matchup, considering the rest of the team helps and boxes out so that he could easily jump over Bogut for boards. I think Jordan was his toughest match up.
Klay does an excellent job of smothering Harden while not fouling him on defense, staying in front of him, and contesting every shot with a hand in his face. Outside of Harden we have no one who can get to the line other than the players they choose to hack. It is the reason we shoot more free throws. While Curry didn't get to the line in the regular season, he is up from 4.2 to 5.8 attempts in the playoffs. The fact that he will be guarded by 37 year old point guards means that number to go up against the Rockets. I agree. I made him sound like Robin Lopez or something, but he is not. He finished 6th this season in DPOY votes (he is always up there). You are right, he is dirty. The Warriors have the MVP, runner up for DPOY this season (Green), Bogut, Iggy, and Barnes. They can guard Ariza with anyone meaning they have so many guys to throw at Harden. Defense is a huge reason they won so many games. Charles said Klay is the best SG in the league while Harden is the MVP, and I disagree. Klay is the best 2 way player in the NBA. The Warriors have 2 MVP caliber players.
In the playoffs, he is. But he didn't play many games this year and the question is can provide offense when we need him to? Klay has been an excellent second option this season for the Warriors.
We are definitely the underdog. That said, after what has just happened, I don't think anyone, and I mean anyone, has any idea who this Rockets team is. I have no ideas what's going to happen. No idea.
Yeah, and it's the playoffs. He didn't play many games this season and is still dominant in the paint. I think the Warriors should be wondering if they have any shot at controlling the paint this series. Yes, I know the Grizzlies...but the Grizzlies are far from being a athletic front court. They are going to have to deal with a lot more vertical play this series with Capela, Smith, and especially Dwight.
Yeah and based on a lot of the playoffs, refs are a lot more hesitant to blow their whistles on flopping. Problem is if you flop all game 1 then it becomes a issue and it becomes something that the refs watch as a unit.
I'm not downplaying anything. The Warriors have been dominant all season long. No one can take that away from them. But thier road to this point has been a lot less bumpy than what teams like the Rockets have faced. That's the only point I'm making here. So the Warriors can hit the Rockets with their best blow, and this team has shown that they can bounce back and respond. But the Warriors haven't seen that type of challenge yet. So it remains to be seen how they'll respond. Nothing homer about that.
Considering they haven't called on Green's flops all playoffs long and that they have never caught on Bogut's sneakiness all carreer long don't expect any different. Hey, I will be angry too when it happens, but I am prepared.
The only thing that gives me some hope is what the Rockets have faced this post season thus far. The Mavs were a very good offensive team. The Cliooers were the leagues best offense in the regular season... And aside from one game, scorched the Spurs as much as the Rockets. So... The Rockets should be used to this now. And they should understand that it takes a team to win. This means more defensively. JJ, Barnes, Crawford... Their sucktitiude is why the Clippers lost. Meaning.... Contain Draymond, Barnes, Iggy, Livingston, Lee. Don't give up historic nights to Curry and Klay... But they can both be great and the Rockets can still win, imo
Uhmmm yes they have. After the regular season we already had two playoff series. In the first of them they went behind by 23 and had an amazing comeback and in the next series they faced REAL adversity against their worst matchup. So I suggest to you that you download the Grizz- Warriors series to watch and see what they had to face. It's nice to watch other games besides the Rockets too, good basketball is played by other teams as well. Were they down 3 games like the Rockets were? No. Did they got tested in the playoffs- like you try to deny in your posts? Yes they were.
Harden has GOT to stop with the careless lazy passes in this series. He did that way too much against the Clippers and it led to a ton of turnovers and points in transition for the Clippers.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Warriors open between -9.5 and 10 at online books for Game 1.</p>— CBS Sports NBA (@CBSSportsNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/CBSSportsNBA/status/600113872842924032">May 18, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
This is how they can control the paint, and it is simple. Curry pick and roll or drive to the basket -- none of our PGs can guard him. Play too tight and he blows by (skilled passer if the defense collapses) and finishes. They have several other slashers who can all finish inside of the paint. They can handle and pass the rock really well and they trust each other on both sides of the court by knowing when to help and when not to. Here is this series in a nutshell. Their two best scorers will be guarded by Terry, Prigioni, and Harden. Our two best players will be guarded by Thompson, Bogut, Iggy, and Barnes. Allen is a defensive monster and it was.
