The Ringer: The Rockets Have Become the Warriors’ Perfect Foil

Nice.

The Ringer curse just in time for the playoffs....

 

It insulted D-Mo

 

Are we borrowing or copying the Warriors formula though, really? Or are both teams drawing from trends that were rooted before the Warriors came along.

This was a big debate I had with some schmuck Utah fans here. I get irritated by the idea that a Morey-DAntoni offense is just copying the Warriors.

 

There is no singular way to win in basketball. There is only which team is best able to assert their playing style over the other. Team basketball is all about having an identity and maintaining it. When your team has an identity, players know what is expected of them and what they need to do. This is especially important for role players and bench players as you are relieving them of a significant amount of decision making. That is huge for them.

 

I'm pretty sure I remember Steve Kerr crediting Mike D'Antoni himself for the evolution of this strategy.

 

You know besides shooting a lot of 3s, the rockets game is nothing like the warriors. Our pace and passing being last is indicative of that

 

Kerr's offense borrowed from a bunch of others, He adopted some triangle sets from his time under Jackson, much of the off ball movement and screening comes straight from the Spurs, another team he played for, and as a GM in Pheneix he got up close and personal with a team that led the NBA in 3s attempted with the fastest pace. Yes, he did ruin those teams by trading for Shaq, but I think he learned alot from that as well, mostly "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

 

Long live the Lineup of Death!

 

Yeah, The Warriors stole the idea from our Chuck Hayes at center lineup!

Rick Adelman will always be 2X better than Mike D'Antoni

-DD

 

Well Don Nelson with the TMC offense arguably did create small ball with Tim Hardway, Mitch Richmond, and Chris Mullin...

 

Warriors get their shots by screening and motion. I laughed when an analyst said Curry's injuries wont matter in the the playoffs because it is ankle and knee, not his hand. I had to call BS. As much as he runs around screens to get open, it will affect him.

Rockets tend to PnR to switch, then ISO ... this year. MDA and DM are willing to change if they see something more efficient.

The biggest similarities are the focus on 3s (more so the rockets) and the switching defense.

 

I'd say the only "copy" is signing Tucker to be a versatile 1-5 defender like dray and can also shoot the occasional three to keep people honest. Donkey has more accolades and more skills but both are crazy impactful to their teams.

If anything, I'd say we're more influenced by the experiments coming out of the G-League and mda's own learnings. Remember those articles on the Vipers where Finch greenlight everyone to shoot 3s? This mirrors the Astros where they swung at everything a couple years before and then magically lead the league in batting avg during their ship run.

Warriors are not like the poop Spurs with interchangable parts. We've already seen the worriers diminished from lack of depth

It's an easier narrative to claim we're copiers (because imitation of success is the best form of flattery), but it's obviously both teams tailoring system to talent.

 

He's balling in the CBA!

These stats are really funny by the way. Other former Rockets: Carl Landry, Courtney Fortson, Von Wafer, Ty Lawson, Terrence Jones, Mike Harris... probably a few others but I can't find them.

It's crazy because all the Euro/American players dominate the stat boards - it's basically just another Euro league in China!

https://basketball.realgm.com/international/league/40/chinese-cba/stats

 

"[PJ Tucker] At 6-foot-6 and 245 pounds with a 7-foot wingspan, the 32-year-old is a cartoonishly proportioned ball of muscle"

T H I C C

 

If anything they’re copying Da Man Toni’s offense. Practically the whole NBA uses a version of it.

 

Quinn Cook is 20,5,5 player. 3-point percentage 50%
Jordan Bell is the next Draymond Green.

https://www.dukebasketballreport.co...inn-cook-is-about-to-make-his-dream-come-true

 

The concept has been around since the Nash and Stoudemire days. The Warriors have been the last team that has been successful running it because of the shooters they have, much better than Bell and Marion.

 

That's exactly right. He even said that D'Antoni should feel vindicated that his system DOES work. Remember, at the time, especially after his unsuccessful stints in LA and NY, MDA was feeling like perhaps his ideologies were flawed, and it was time to rethink his take on the game.

This narrative that we're just "copying" what Golden State is doing by shooting a lot of 3's is lazy, and utter nonsense. The net result (lots and lots of 3's) might be the same, but the journey to get there is VASTLY different. We run an ISO-centric offense predicated on 2 elite facilitators dissecting a defense by probing and searching for mismatches through picks. The Warriors produce their shots with a series of back screens, and tons of movement (both on-ball and off-ball). They look COMPLETELY different to anyone who has watched basketball for more than 6 months.