Video: How The Rockets Are Exposing Golden State’s Defense!

Thank You!!!!
I’ve been fuming since game 1 about these Sengun high picks for Jalen that only bring Draymond to the action. Pointless! The guy is the best PnR defender in the League, what’s the point of bringing him to the action? It didn’t work for James freaking Harden/Capela, how on Earth is it going to work for Jalen Green? Wasted possessions!

If you want to set a pick to free Jalen, do it ONLY with the guy who has the Dutch kid. Dutch kid is easy money. That’s such a simple rule-of-thumb to follow….

One more thing: not only Jabari post-ups, I want more Sengun post-ups, too! Here’s the thing about Draymond: he SUCKS as a post defender. In fact the only reason he’s celebrated as some kind of a defensive savant in his career is because the ANALytics movement decided that post-up play is no-bueno (???). On what planet is a 6-6ft Center who can’t defend post-ups is considered a good defensive player in the game of basketball?

Th Rockets need to mash Draymond in the post, it’s that simple. We now have the personnel in Sengun, it’s not like in those dumb Morey years when we were playing Capela, P.J.Tuck or RoCo at C and making Draymond look like a genius. Just mash the mofo, don’t waste possessions bringing his azz to Jalen Green and making him look good.

 

I enjoyed this. Thx for posting. Great comparison of the PnRs. Wonder if we'll see Post in that role, again. Don't know why they wouldn't just put him on Eason or Bari in those plays. But great awareness for us to exploit it, immediately.

He had one error, though. He compared 1st Plays between game 1 and game 2. He posted our 2nd Play of Game 1, though.

Here's the 1st Play, which I still think is the best play of the series, so far. We've never run this before, as far as I've noticed.

 

I disagree about Draymond. To me, he is an above-average post defender. While not Rodman-strong, Draymond is fairly unmovable once he has established his position. If someone attempts to dislodge him, drama ensues. There's all this reaching, pulling (which I'm noticing increasingly), and grabbing, but no one knocks him off balance and moves him from his spot, not even Steven Adams. Forget it.

In the post on D, Draymond creates turnovers on entry passes, and if a post-player makes any loose dribbles, he pounces. Draymond contests quite well at the rim, near the league's top players. For an unsportsmanlike player, he's cerebral and knows his opponent's moves and tendencies. He's always doing something (legal or illegal) with his hands.

What's interesting in this series is that Sengun has found several sweet spots where Draymond can't contest his shot. He's making those jump hooks and turnarounds at a high rate. Sengun has stopped trying to draw fouls with all the muscling and flailing. Thank the Lord. That's just wasted energy against GS.

About all you can do is go chest to chest with Draymond, be physical, and make decisive moves. Credit Sengun. He's making it happen.

 

Thanks, @heypartner. I think an underrated aspect of that first play was that because Amen didn't finish, he went to the line and missed both FTs (going 0-4 from the stripe for the game). I dont think it helped his confidence. That coupled with the foul trouble in Game 2, makes me hopeful that he's going to come out and dominate the game today with his defense and effort.

 

If Draymond is not on the floor as the primary defender, can they have Jimmy play that role instead? I think this comparison vs. Post is not going to be relevant because Jimmy is playing, Post was only getting minutes because Jimmy was out( 25 mins game two vs. 12 mins game one). I agree with getting Jabari in the post a lot more, feels more reliable given our inconsistent guard play.

 

Let's all hope the Warriors are reading this.