ClutchFans Game Thread: Rockets @ Warriors 5/2/2025 (Playoffs Round 1, Game 6)

Yup, so please @jaychi hook us up I think game 6 was not local due to ESPN’s weird rules or is that just ABC exclusivity?

 

I agree with more minutes for Jabari, but not starting Green seems a drastic measure, especially in the 7th game of a series. Warriors defense focuses on Green -- that leads to opportunities for his teammates.

Green doesn't have to shoot well. If he can play solid defense and protect the ball, he's a plus player. If his shot is falling, Rockets will win most games by 15+ points.

Besides that, Rockets just need to keep doing what they're doing, and not be atrocious from FT. Warriors are fortunate this series isn't already over.

 

I have never been more proud of the Rockets in 40 plus years of fandom than I was with last night’s game. Tremendous win and can we finally stop with the trade FVV nonsense? He along with Adams are the main reasons why we are playing a Game 7 tomorrow.

 

Trading FVV talk is about either the youth movement or his impending pay raise. I’d love to keep him.

 

I am still in a dream like trance after last night’s win. It doesn’t feel real.

 

I was really starting to lose faith in Fred the first few games of the series--but thank god he's on this team. I'm back onboard with the plan to extend him (as long as the dollar value is right).

I still think we need backcourt reinforcements during the offseason though. A sharpshooting 6th man type of dude in the backcourt who could come in when Jalen or Fred are having an off night would be HUGE for this team.

 

Was that the one Curry pushed off for separation?

 

Narrative on Reddit is that Kerr is a p*ssy for emptying his bench so early and Warriors fans too for leaving lol

You love to see it

 

Warriors fans thinking they know the personel more than Kerr is hilarious.

Kuminga was a disaster in his minutes during this series. If the unit that closed Game 5 was a player. I hope he plays in Game 7.

 

The defensive game ball should probably go to Ime for refusing to back down from the zone and helping the Rockets impose their will on what shots they were willing to give up. It drives some fans crazy to give up uncontested looks, but it's part of the mind game that Ime is playing.

The Rockets' zone execution (and wrinkles off the zone) has improved with every game. I like that we're now allowing GS to run whatever plays they enjoy.

Among the players, the defensive game ball goes to.... Jalen Green for his best performance of the year. He stayed connected and mentally alert on every defensive possession, and the numbers bear that out.

• The Warriors went 3 for 15 against Jalen (0-4 in the decisive 4th quarter)
• For the game, GS was 1 for 9 from the three-point line with Green as the primary defender

Early in the game, Butler was cooking, having his way with Brooks (4-5 from the field against Brooks) and drawing a healthy number of whistles (some because of his star status). Ime countered by going big with Steven Adams, which changed the chemistry of what open shots GS could generate.

When Butler wasn't creating comfortable isolation dribble drives, he became a stationary shooter against the zone. With the game on the line, he missed in the face of a few solid closeouts. Jalen was the primary defender on Butler's single drive from a half-court set in the fourth quarter. Adams was waiting for the block.

Adams's extra effort to clean up Jalen's excellent contest on that drive (4th quarter, 9:37 mark) took the life out of GS. All they managed on that possession was a 31' heave by Curry. At this critical juncture, I think the Rockets started to believe they could win rather than hold off GS.

 

Damn twin I didn’t know the Bay could contain two Scarface’s? What city?

 

Great post!

 

Green was engaged defensively and he provides a lot of gravity on offense as Golden State is still scheming to keep him out of the game.

Jalen’s problem is that he’s not good enough to stop that from happening. Not yet anyways. That’s going to ultimately determine what kind of player he is.

 

I think Kerr will probably try Kuminga in game 7. Warriors media and fans have been pushing for this idea. Kuminga is quicker, stronger and bigger than GPII, Podz or Moody. He could present a challenge for the Rockets defense.

 

I love how heartbroken the announcers sounded after the Adams dunk around the 4 min mark of the 4th when the warriors looked completely deflated.

 

I really really wish Jalen was a great passer who saw the court well. He otherwise has all the gravity and tools and skills to be a great point guard type of player, but he can't punish traps and consistently find the open man, so he just ends up being a big zero out there on nights when he isn't absolutely on fire from three.

 

Looney & Kuminga?

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6330487/2025/05/03/warriors-rockets-nba-playoffs-game-6/

… As the Warriors reconvene over the next 30 hours and gameplan for Game 7, Post’s rotation role is one of the various personnel choices that’ll be in question.

As a way to protect the interior more and better match up against Adams and Şengün, Kerr could elevate Kevon Looney’s playing time. He only received two minutes in Game 6. That won’t necessarily solve the spacing issues on the offensive end, but Looney is often Kerr’s counter in rugged environments and could help shore up the defensive issues that are becoming more troubling.

Butler and Green both said postgame that the team’s biggest issue was its inability to get loose balls and win in the effort categories. That would become easier if those two aren’t having to fight off two centers and instead have Looney down there to help with the dirty work. Butler got the biggest rebound in the series — clinching Game 4 — because Looney was down there fighting off Adams.

“I think they probably had 20 points off of broken plays and getting loose balls and kicking out for 3s,” Green said. “Get loose balls and we’ll defend them way better. In order to beat this team, you got to make second and third efforts. Last two games we have not done that.”

There’s also a case for Jonathan Kuminga’s entering the mix again. The Warriors’ third-leading scorer this season has been put on ice in this series, but brings a level of rim pressure and offensive force that has been lacking the last two games.

“One hundred percent he’s on the table (as a rotation option),” Kerr said.

Kerr’s first big rotation choice will be answered at tip. He has juggled his starting lineup four times in this series, landing on a group that included Hield and Payton instead of Moody and Podziemski on Friday night.

Much of the strategy has been about Şengün’s defensive assignment. The Rockets have been trying to keep him out of the Curry action and the Warriors have been trying to reconfigure the matchups to force him into the action. But the zone has done a job of protecting Şengün regardless of who is on the floor and the Warriors rotation is now all jumbled up.

In the locker room postgame, Butler called over Green to discuss strategy and adjustments. After a brief conversation, the two exited the main area and called over Curry to loop him in on the conversation. It’s clear that Kerr and the veterans have issues to solve prior to Sunday or a playoff run that appeared promising a few days ago will be over before the weekend is up.

“We good,” Butler said. “We smiling. We listening to our music, celebrating life. We’re ready to compete. We were ready to compete tonight. Things didn’t go our way. We’re going to be ready to compete on Sunday. We’re going to make the game go our way.”

Butler told Hield before he left the locker room: “The real always rise.”

 

Exactly, I'm hoping Houston shows up like we know they can and just runs the Warriors off the court. It's not over, but I think FVV and Adams experience is going to be huge here. The Rockets need to make sure to not let up and use their youth/energy to their advantage.

They also need to play the whole game with that energy and not expect the Warriors to just roll over. I kind of think that's what they were expecting in game 3 with Butler out.

 

Just ONE MORE and the Rockets MOVE ON!