This what the Rockets have to do win the series: Let Curry get his points, so what if he get's 40 or even 50, but limited every one else. DO NOT LET the rest of the Warriors have a big game.. limited the rest of the team, but don't try to stop Curry let him have his.
Force any right hand player to his left and make them finish with their left or shoot a contest jump shot. Neither Curry nor Blake finish at the rim going left, they shoot a fadeaway or pause and crossover back to the right.
Their best defenders are klay and Green. Green can't stop Dwight and Harden should abuse Klay on the midrange or dives
to me it's physicality, or the lack thereof as a team. so mchale's philosophy will apply once again - play harder! i figured in the end it will come down to rebounding and our transition d.
Play hard, never give up, keep it physical, make it ugly, and hope they choke under the pressure and our team rises to the challenge. In other words, play Rockets basketball.
One of the biggest advantages the Rockets have is toughness IMO. Limit open 3's and eat up boards and the Rockets have a good chance so long as they don't go ice cold from 3 again.
If I'm mchale I would stand before the team and tell them "guys you've worked hard this year, but that team over there is better then you." (Points at harden) "they got the guys and the MVP. They got a better coach, they got more swag, and they are the good guys..... but you know what?.... **** them. **** the good guys, I want the bad guys. I want the bad guys who never get respected, who never gets picked, and who never gives up. You have no chance in this series and they are most likely going to be the champions. The only choice you have right now is, do you let them walk right to a championship.... or will you make them bleed to get it. Defense gentle men, Defense. Hang your hat on it, because you will not be disappointed if you fail..... Let's go make those ****ing gods bleed."
IMHO, 1. Curry's gonna get his, so the only way to stop him would be to 'take him out' and I just don't see us as a dirty team like that. Let's beat the team at basketball not basketbrawl. 2. Hone in on Klay. He's their 50/50. If he scores 25+, we have almost no shot of winning. We gotta get him in foul trouble or defend the heck out of him so he rides pine. 3. A lot of people are calling out the mismatch that Dwight has on Bogut, but really I think we should pay close attention to Speights. He's having a solid year as their backup C, and even though he's day-to-day you should prepare for him. He's lethal from 15-18 feet out, but hopefully Smith will rotate to him, because I can't see Capela sizing up with him. 4. Neutralize Draymond Green. This guy is their Pat Beverley. Absolutely tenacious and feels like he can, and will, guard anyone. We gotta get in this guy's head, because when he gets hot, it's on both ends simultaneously. He's a big X-Factor / #3. 5. The bench factor. They have Iguodala, Barnes, Livingston, Lee, Speights, even Barbosa has shown some flashes of his "Brazilian Blur" persona we saw in Phoenix years ago. We have to control the second unit production and not falter just because their starters are out. This bench isn't the Clipper bench, so it is imperative that we play solid. 6. CRASH BOARDS. No explanation needed
I say there biggest weakness we can exploit is rebounding. Dwight needs to be all over the glass and making his presence known. Unlike last series where both dre and blake are good rebounders, no one scares me enough to keep smith and Jones close to box out. I think with this advantage smith and or jones will be able to leak out in transition and initiate the fast breaks quicker. Dwight is pretty good at grabbing the board and making the quick outlet pass. I think defensively we should see Ariza on curry and/or Thompson a lot. His length and defensive presence should pose some problems. Have Terry and prigs play full court in your face against curry and deny him the ball like we were doing against cp3. Atttttack the heck out of the rim. Experience.
I think the 4 5 PnR will be a good play this series. Play them tight around the perimeter, make them pass inside.
I think Offensive rebounding is an aspect of the game we may be able to exploit vs Golden State. We need to Control the defensive boards and just crash them on the offensive end.
In recap, my #1 and #3 weren't really a factor. We succeeded at #2 and #6. So that leaves #4 and #5, which we didn't do, at least for Livingston. Man I feel like I might actually know something about this stuff.
Did anyone notice those MOVING SCREENS Andrew Bogan IS MOVING when setting screens for Curry in the corners ... GEEZ and keeps on getting away with it, and we are not saying anything and the ref's are NOT calling it.
