ClutchFans Game Thread: Rockets @ Warriors 4/28/2025 (Playoffs Round 1, Game 4)

That’s just a silly comparison. Putting a hand on a three point shooter while contesting the shot is a foul almost every time. A terrible defensive play by Brooks.

The same thing in the paint when the offensive player is making a move towards the basket is usually considered incidental contact.

 

With Curry on the team. Rockets will finally beat the Warriors when Curry retires and beating them doesn't have that same energy anymore. I mean it hardly does now without the original splash brothers but Steph and Draymond is still there.

I'm just still in shock these are the Warriors the Rockets tried spamming 3s on to get the record. Since then they've owned us when it was the opposite before that.

 

Things I liked: Adams, Amen showing signs of life on offense, Sengun against non-Draymond defenders, taking the punch to start the game and taking it down to the wire

Things I didn't like: Green, coaching not helping Green or Jabari, taking out Adams, drawing up the crucial OTO play for a middy Sengun shot put over Draymond, constant over helping and/of busted rotations leaving non-Curry people WIDE open for three, free throw shooting, disgusting officiating.

At this point it's hard to imagine much of this improving next game, it's things we've seen all season/series. My biggest realistic hope is that Amen has another decent game.

 

First you. Then me. Always us, unless it means Jabari or Adams might get more minutes or Amen gets fewer. Liftoff!

 

Even when he misses the second ft, there is a nice possibility of grabbing the offensive rebound, too. We have seen it in the regular season.

 

That pissed me off
What was he gonna do...go 1 out of 2

**** any rocket would so that last night.

Rocket River

 

Herro has a 3x All Star teammate in Bam

Booker has Top 50 All Time KD and elite scorer Beal

GS would defend them the same way they defended JG and with no offensive system and worse defense Ime would bench them and blame them

Game 3 GS guarded JG 94 feet and doubled and blitzed him - we made no halftime adjustment to make them pay

Game 4 GS guarded JG 94 feet but this time they shaded his right hand it force him to use his weak hand and jumped the passes to the middle… once again Ime made no halftime adjustments and didn’t until we gave up a 13-2 run or some crap

We had 2 weeks to go back and watch how GS guarded us in 5 games this year and (Yes) if we make FTs we are up 3-1 but we are trying to scheme Curry on D (it’s worked 2 games out of the last 5) GS works to get him decent FGA at least

 

Situation is crazy. I know what we have to do.

 

I’m honestly losing my mind watching this.


Udoka has no idea how to generate buckets right now. We came into this postseason with zero expectations — this was always about growth and gaining playoff experience. So why aren’t we using that to actually experiment?


This is the time to try different players and lineups. Play Cam. Play Sheppard. Play Holiday, Tate, even Uncle Green here and there — shake things up! It’s wild how stubborn Udoka is being with these rotations. We’re not even supposed to be contending right now, so why are we treating this like it’s Game 7 of the Finals with a locked-in rotation?


Kerr has been switching up his lineups constantly, giving different guys chances. Meanwhile, we’ve got real talent just rotting on the bench. Cam, Sheppard, Holiday — we have weapons, and one rotation tweak here or there could’ve easily been the difference between being down 3-1 and being up 3-1.


And I’m sorry — but Jalen Green? I’m done. He’s too much of a liability. If he’s not scoring, he’s dragging us down. Replace him with Cam and let’s start grooming a real two-way beast. Cam has the hunger, the power, the mindset. Jalen’s inconsistency is maddening. We can’t keep hoping he figures it out — let Cam eat.


And don’t get me started on Sheppard. He’s our sniper — elite shooting, quick hands on defense, smart in pick-and-rolls. If Podz can get heavy minutes, there is no excuse for Sheppard sitting. Honestly, I’d bet Sheppard would be better than Fred if given the chance. And we’ll never know if Udoka refuses to try.


This series could’ve been ours. But we’re stuck in ****ing neutral while talent sits unused.

 

This is what drives me nuts about this team. This is on our coach! He allows this narrow group of players and game play to stifle our offense. I can't stand smug Kerr, but he is such a smarter coach.

He rotated 15 different players so far and Ime stuck to the same 8. They've had 12 different players take 3 PT shots to our 6, which mainly consists of Jalen and Fred taking them. I've always hated that about Ime.

Look at the difference of how they spread the ball around Here's the 3 PT shooting this series...

Curry and Podziemski 26/66
Shield and Post 15/45
Moody and Green 10/36

Butler, Spencer, Kuminga, Payton, Santos, and Knox 10/19

VanVleet and Green 24/73
Brooks and Smith 14-27

Thompson, Eason, and Sengun 5/18

Tell me with a straight face this makes sense!

 

What I hated about the Teen Wolf offense was that when it was crunch time in the playoffs, it was easy to stop even for a 60 year old Manu. Basically what we ran for Sengun on the last play and he doesn't have Teen wolf's honey bun bag. FVV said the play was for him but they bumped him out of the action.
At halftime I was optimistic we'd find more shots for Jabari who had 3. He ends up with 4.

Would have been nice to set him up for the final shot. Hollins brought it up.

 

Kerr out coached Ime. It’s that simple. Kerr was able to take JG out, and when he forced Ime to take Adams out I knew we would lose.

 

I want to see Steven Adams lay him out with his screens.

 

The offense was bad as usual. But what contributed losing us the game was all those defensive mistakes at the end. This team plays with hustles but not the brain on defense, over aggressive, over committed, on several occasions that gifted the opponents easy points at crucial moments.

 

They win if they make free throws……

 

For the season, Rockets shot better than 61% and Warriors worse than 91%

THAT might be the biggest factor of this game.

Jalen chipped-in nicely with 1-4 FT.

Rockets lost by 3 f***ing points.

 

Even simple adjustments like stop letting Jalen take the technical free throws are hurtful

 

I also wonder if Ime and Stone have bickered about Jalen