With no Dort I don't know who they can put on Harden who can defend him. Roberson can't stay on the court with his 20% 3-point shooting and 40% FT shooting. I think we can blast them in game 1 with a big Harden performance.
not a major injury, he felt it the next day. I get it all the time when i bowl for many hours, I dont feel it that night but, the next day i can barley lift my leg to even get into the car, and i have to use my hands to lift my leg. During the day i drag my feet because i cant get enough lift in my legs to walk. Takes about a week to walk again and two weeks for me feel nothing, Its like a really bad sore muscle. With medical attention and massages he ll be right in about week and half. Hes gonna play GM 2 or GM 3.
This is a good point foggy94. I am assuming that they will try throwing a committee of guys and see who does the best. Their philosophy generally has not been to double. Even if Harden gets 50 though, we still need to hit open shots and defend. I personally expect the Thunder to go small and see if that works... they have the guards to do it.
I was thinking about that earlier, they can go small but to what end? Gallo at the 5 is a great stretch option but who is at the 4? Bazley, Ferguson, Roberson are all bad shooters (although Bazley is red hot in the bubble so that could work). If they try to match up with us I think we have way more firepower. Most are asking if Adams will get played off the court, and so Nerlens Noel is a complete afterthought. But if I were OKC I'd consider using him as an adjustment. He's an elite finisher at the rim, and if they can get him running slip screens that could cause us some problems. On the defensive end, I'd just put him on PJ Tucker in the corner, try not to switch and let Tucker stay open if Harden wants to use him as a screener above the break. Tuck can't shoot there.
I think we may see a good amount of Adams because he can run and guard the perimeter better than most, but I do believe that the Thunder are going to use their guard rotation a lot. If they move Gallo to the 5 it also allows them to possibly play Roberson more as his shooting is less of a concern. The one thing I will give OKC is they have possible multiple levels to try and exploit the Rockets.... they can go big with Adams/Noel or even try running Roberson as the defacto 5 in a small line up with Galo at the 4........ You and I can go back and forth (and I enjoy your thoughts) but we will keep coming back to the same play - the Rockets need to hit 35-36% of their 3's and tighten up their defense. I was texted a few minutes ago that the Rockets will look for getting Green minutes if the Thunder decide to go small.
Oh, Green is gonna get significant minutes this postseason, and if OKC does look to trap and double Harden he will be essential with Westbrook out. I don't think I've ever asked or seen it mentioned, what is your connection to the team may I ask?
Doesn't really matter who is guarding Harden because they will pack the paint after Harden beats his man and dare Rockets shooters to beat them instead of giving Harden a layup.
I like Nerlens too but he is a foul machine. Harden would take full advantage of his aggressive hands. He would be a great back up 5 for the Rockets if he only had a 3ball.
Do not think Tyson ever going to play unless blowout, maybe not even then. Offense and defense would have to completely change with traditional 5.
Dort shoots 40% from the field and 30% from 3. Other than SGA, everyone who might have a chance of guarding Harden can't shoot the ball. So they're almost always at a disadvantage there. SGA is the only one who can shoot and match Harden's size, but I don't think he can guard Harden otherwise they wouldn't have signed and started Dort. Even when Dort was playing, Ferguson spent a good amount of time guarding Harden. And Dort's success? Pre-small ball, I doubt he can replicate it without Clint's man helping on drives. Paul will of course try to steal the glory by swiping at Harden every chance he gets the way Draymond used to. His knowledge of the Warriors defense on Harden and MDA's offensive philosophy will help the Thunder a lot unfortunately. Harden has to be laser sharp beating any cheating off Westbrook because unlike Capela, if you get the ball to him open he is driving and stuffing it or getting a foul. Was pointless giving Capela the basket 15ft away from the basket. Totally different case with Russ. Draymond would have been toast on half of those attempts if it was Russ rather than Capela he was cheating off. With Russ out I don't know WHAT the Thunder are going to do. Are you going to cheat off Gordon, House, Tucker or Covington? Even if they are shooting poorly, you can't leave those guys. So now SGA has to attempt to guard Harden while we just force switch the living hell out of them, bringing Adams and Gallinari out to play on the perimeter.
And this is why I am licking my chops at this matchup. If Rockets lose it will not be because OKC was better team, it will be because of not hitting all the super wide open 3's. I cannot wait for game to start!
I really doubt we shoot well this series, they are great at guarding the 3, and good at defense in general. This series is going to be ugly imo.
Good thing he does not average more than 20 a game. Thunder do not make it rain like Rockets do. Gallo would be in heaven in Houston and playing under MDA.
I like his game and agree he'd be a fit, but availability counts and he's too injury prone. I've had enough of that in my Rocket's fandom.
Anyone have a feeling Gordon is dropping 30? He always does some sh*t like that when you least expect it lol.
