Hi all. This is an original analysis I wrote on how the Rockets can actually pull off the upset against the Warriors. http://www.ballandone.com/2016/04/14/rockets-upset-warriors/ There are a lot of clips in my post that reinforce my points so I encourage you to read the full thing, but here are some quick takeaways. Post-ups will be key to slowing down the Warriors, but Dwight Howard should not get touches because he turns it over so much down there. D-Mo, Harden, and (maybe) Beasley are all viable post-up options, especially when Warriors switch on screens. Also, posting someone else up gives Howard a better chance of crashing offensive boards. The Harden PnR is a potent weapon, but Rockets have to be selective when using it against the Warriors. PnR against Bogut/Ezeli/Green as the big won’t go anywhere, but against Barnes/Speights/Curry it can be very effective. Rockets should get creative and try experimenting with Ariza and Beverley screening more instead of Howard. When Warriors load up the strong side against Harden, he will look for the skip pass into the corner. This means whoever is spot-up at the corner has to knock down a respectable percentage of 3PTs, which means 27.2 3PT% Corey Brewer will have a very short leash. Offense won’t be a big problem for the Rockets – they just have to be careful not to hurt themselves with live ball turnovers. Defensively, Rockets can slow the game down by fouling liberally when guys are stuck on screens or Warriors are on the break. Sending the Warriors to the line is preferable to giving up fast-breaks or open 3-PTs because the dubs have so many sub-70% FT shooters. The Warriors won’t beat you from the line. Rocket wings should stay on their man and force a Warriors roll man to shoot floaters or mid-range jumpers. The Utah Jazz with Rudy Gobert did this really well. Granted, this is very hard to do. When Curry comes off a screens, teams have tried switching everything and living with him going 1v1 against a big. Rockets should seriously consider this strategy. Curry isolations are one to make sure that Klay Thompson won’t score 37 points in a quarter against you. Thanks and enjoy the read! Feedback welcome.
Great job. I really enjoy your articles, perfect balance of unbiased analysis with some clutch city homerism
Great write up! I think the bolded is going to be a key part to beating the Warriors. We simply can't beat the Warriors playing our own game, which they do but much better. I think Howard should be used a little more in the post, but it has to be done right. We need to get the ball to Howard quickly when in position and he needs to make quick decisions. That's on top of Harden, DMo, and Beasley need to focus on scoring in the paint.
In one sentence - play like GSW of this season (Harden shooting like Steph) and GSW plays like the Rockets of this mediocre season and we will win out!
They should play Capela more. Comapred to Howard, Capela is much better defensively against perimeter players. Howard sucks at defending the pick and roll, and will get shut down offensively by Bogut.
Guess how much weed OP smoked when he posted this Spoiler winner gets autographed Sam Dekker bobblehead
Long time lurker, never posted, but I wanted to give you props. Both write ups are solid. Really enjoyed them.
We've been waiting for Playoff Dwight all season. Now, he's finally here! Unleash this beast (minus the free throws)!
It would be a nice surprise if we could make it very close each game without a major blowout No victory by GSW beyond 15 pts differential would be nice.