Give the Spurs credit - they have solved Houston's offense

Anderson, Williams and Nene didn't make a single shot. Bev, Anderson, Williams, Nene and Gordon shot a combined 6-36. Which is less than 17%

I don't care how much of a guru you guys think Pop is. I refuse to believe he figured out a way to make those guys shoot that poorly. We had an 8 man rotation and not 1 of those 5 guys above had dick to contribute. They're way too talented to shoot sub 17% I don't care how tough or how contested the shot was. That can't and won't happen again.

 

that is the norm, the Rockets have been bad from 3 pretty much this entire playoffs

we've been saying that we'll shoot better for too long

we've shot the ball at a good rate from 3 in just 2 games this entire playoffs (game 2 against OKC and game 1 against SA)...other than that it's been brick after brick, clank after clank

 

lol at "solved the defense". we're missing a ton of good looks. game 2 harden doesn't show up and we were in the game for 3 quarters. game 3 only harden shows up and we were in striking distance all night. don't get me wrong, spurs play good D, but we are still getting good looks, just can't hit a damn thing.

 

Much better thanks, but the truth is the truth, without a plan B, we are a regular season only team.

Guys standing in one spot is easy to lock in on, Pop has solved it, unless we hit contested shots we are not gonna win.

If we had more body movement and screens we could counter this, but do you honestly see that happening?

DD

 

Oh, we definitely drew up a floater last night. And it's still... floating for all to see. LOL.
(apologies).

 

someone in another thread observed that other than Harden and Capela, the other "Big Four" shot a combined 17%, something like 6 for 36. I have to think that's gotta improve . . . . I also think MDA should open his rotation to get Trez and Dekker some time, maybe 10 minutes each, to give us a shot in the arm and to change things up a bit. I remain optimistic.

 

Gordon, Beverley, and Williams combined for .372 in the playoffs. Anderson and Ariza have been bad. And Harden is the biggest culprit for our poor 3pt%, but Harden can be effective even when he's not shooting well.

We knew the Rockets offense would fluctuate wildly. That's the "variance" Morey was talking about. The team was designed for that in order to have a chance to beat the Warriors with inferior talent. If we could hit a hot stretch playing them, we might be able to win. The problem is, we have to play more than one team in the playoffs. Hot stretches come and go. It will come to the average when the sample size is big enough. We are fine with a team like OKC who can self-destruct, but not so with SAS and GSW. We have to be very lucky to beat both of them in a row.

That's why I thought all the chest pumping here after Game 1 was pretty silly. Our offense isn't as good as Game 1. But it isn't as bad as last night either. You guys kneejerk with a team that is supposed to have large variance.

 

FYI the best defenses leave the mid range intentionally open, that's because they want you to take that shot. How will taking mid range shots leave them in disarray when that's their game plan?

 

I don't think I would agree with the whole "they solved the offense" deal. Basketball is still about matchups and adjustments. What I thought was interesting was the matchup changes that Popovich has decided to go with.

1. Aldridge on Ariza and Green on Anderson: This has allowed him to put size on Ariza (which almost always throws off his game) and quickness on Anderson (which in close outs has really bothered him since he's been back from injury). But what I didn't see coming was how effective Aldridge and Green are as help defenders. They can squeeze Harden into Gasol, and Harden struggles to finish with his right over Gasol.
2. Leonard and Mills as primary defenders on Harden: These are savvy veterans who don't draw fouls (and add Gasol to that list) as well. So there are no freebies at this point.

The defensive matchups in the frontcourt are pretty one-sided at this point as well.

1. Gasol guarded by Harden: He can see over the top, draw fouls, rebounds, chip in the shot. I don't think we should put Harden in this matchup, ever.
2. Aldridge guarded by anyone: Someone will need to step up and deny him the ball. Capela has at least a fighting chance of keeping him off the glass.

Here are the kinds of things that MDA and the staff have to be talking about on offense:

1. Can Decker or Troy Williams play? Both Decker and Williams would be a better matchup with Danny Green than Anderson. Perhaps a lineup like Decker, Harden, Ariza, Beverley/Gordon, and Anderson/Capela might push the Spurs away from running 2 big men. And Williams has the hops to at least make Alridge think about his shot. The other added benefit is that a 9-man rotation would keep us fresher as the Spurs spread minutes over 9-10 players.
2. Our running game: Can we be more consistent here? It seems like our fast break is a scramble up the court and a quick 3 or nothing. I'd like to see Capela get off a jump hook early in the game or see a free throw line jumper from someone other than Lou Williams. Also, if we have cross-matchups we ought to be able to get into our offense more quickly as in game one. . . Less jogging and walking free throw line to free throw line, please. Let's move the ball from side to side and play with more pace.
3. Finishing over Gasol: Okay, this one is just the fan and the competitor in me. I would LOVE to see Troy Williams put the ball on the floor and take it right through Gasol. I think we're trying to be too cute with him. Gasol is an underrated defender at the rim, and the answer, in my opinion, is to collide with him. If he is not going to back down, he's a 35-year old rim protector. We should make him feel the weight of being in our way. I think both Decker and Williams could give us 10 minutes that Gasol would wish he could forget. And if he blocks one, fine, keep coming at him. If there's a charge, fine. I want more full speed, downhill challenges. If we do that, the 3s will open back up.
4. Dribble it out: If the Spurs have done anything, they're running a clinic on how to defend probling, snaking drives. But they are timing us up and closing up passing lanes. They know how long they have to stay on the lob, then the timings off, leaving us with an off balance, contested layup or an awkward 3-point shot. But if you dribble into the paint off the PnR and hesitate stop at the free throw line or pause at the block or go all the way through the paint and loop around, you can disupt Gasol's ability to defend one angle. It's more likely that you'll get an open shot or a slip pass to a big man.
5. Move Ariza off the right wing: I saw lots of plays in Game 4 where Aldridge was closing out on Ariza AND serving as a help defender on the right wing. I think Ariza should go back door on Aldridge before Harden makes his move on the PnR and totally empty the right side of the court. This way if Harden wants to finish on the right side of the rim, Aldridge can't help.

 

The Rockets struggling in the playoffs against good defensive teams that can game plan against them over consecutive games was totally predictable.

 

Also maybe its just me but the reality is every play in the NBA is an open book. You have a team that runs a set amount of plays that you've been working on all year, your opponents know that and have got tape on you, everybody knows everybody's game plan at this point.

Its just a matter of execution, you need discipline and talent for that to happen. Spurs had talent and discipline. Rockets didn't. Simple as that.

Take a look at Ryan Anderson's shots, all of those were wide open, he just didn't make any. That's not the Spurs figuring out the offense, its just Anderson not making his shots. Same goes for Nene and Lou Will.

 

to me this was one of the biggest issues last night, and a big reason why Harden struggled for most of the game

 

Lou, Harden, Ariza, Gordon, and Ryno

Play Ryno at the stretch 5 and stick him on the elbow to draw out Gasol as far from the paint as possible.

High pnr attack the paint and then pull up right between the FT line and the arc and pull up jumper over and over and over.

I read on a Spurs board that LMA by FG% is the BEST rim defender in the league. Better than Gobert. He and Gasol are legit defensive problems. Yes OKC figured this out too but Kanter, Gibson, and Adams are not LMA and Gasol.

You have to make adjustments or this series is over.

 

Narrow variance - the people who react the exact same way after every loss.

Time to adopt a mid range post up strategy! Derp...

 

Rockets still have to prove that they have poise and don't crack under pressure when the going gets tough with their offense against elite teams like Spurs and Warriors

 

You have to give the Spurs credit for forcing the Rockets to go 2-11 on wide open (no defender within 6 feet) shots last night.

The solution is midrange.

 

It is not personel that are the problem, it is the standing in one spot making it aesy to guard problem, when your defender leaves you, move to a different spot.

DD

 

Yes, I think we can rotate them out of their help positions. But ultimately, Harden is going to have to feast on single coverage and finish plays. Credit to SA for making the Rockets the uncomfortable and forcing us to make adjustments. We have the next move.

 

The point is to have a variety of plays to run, instead of being a one trick pony.

When they lock in on threes and keep a man under the basket take a midrange shot!

DD

 

Yes after 15 years of D'Antoni being a head coach, and after nearly 100 games this season... the Spurs magically figured out how to stop the Rockets offense.

THEY CRACKED THE CODE!!!

The Rockets problems had nothing to do with missing open shots, getting out rebounded and losing the battle inside.

Seriously... the Spurs have defended well; but they are not doing any special other than executing well and the Rockets are not executing.