I noticed that James was on Durant last game. My question is since no one can guard KD so why not let PJ crash the glass and play loose ?
So we want Harden to be the primary defender on KD while also needing to drop 35-40 on the other end and set up guys like Capela and Tucker? So we don’t care if he gets worn down?
this is what allows us to play very small. Tucker on Draymond. Harden on KD. Eric on Klay Austin on Iggy CP3 on Steph.
Question: Where can one best find data down to this granular level of who defended whom on which possessions? (And if you know, maybe give me a link or tell me where to go on the website, because I get easily lost in these stat websites. Thank you.) It doesn't surprise me that James can guard KD. I was already curious before this what it looks like when other people guard KD.
I actually thought Harden played him really well. Honestly James had a great game given the circumstances and he's not the reason we lost. Our rebounding is probably the biggest reason, and then our turnovers after that. We cut the game to 4 points and then gave up back breaking second chances, and even though we can blame House, I actually thought Capela was the biggest culprit as a big man who is not regularly coming down with boards, protecting the rim, or executing on the offensive end. PJ's missed three in the 4th was also pretty big.
I mean Tucker and Harden can take turns since they are on the floor together at all times anyways and it well help with foul trouble with tucker since he has been in foul trouble in both games already.
Seriously. What spin state were all of Harden's and Durant's electrons in during these possessions? Does quantum tunneling correlate in some way to Harden's tunneling through defenses? Morey, you're missing vital analytics here! Also, maybe Clint's sick because he's being affected by higher-than-average neutrino bombardment. It's possible; after all, neutrinos only interact via the WEAK force.
I like Harden on Durant. Durant is the type of guy that noone can guard. All he does is jumpers anyways. If he hits his jumpers than we're screwed and if he miss, we're good. And we all know he can choke really easily just throwing shots up. Check out his OKC shooting percentage.
I also noticed Harden playing the best defense on KD. Maybe down the stretch have him defend Durant a little more and Chris Paul can show his worth by taking on the offensive load.
It is not really Capela’s fault against warriors. The matchup is just terrible. He has really fast feet for a center but you can’t expect him to constantly get pick/switch out top and be able to guard and rebound at the same time against a non-traditional team like the warriors small ball line up. Capela is good at his own unique skill set but he is being nullified by the length of Draymond and Durant which makes the lob ineffective. That further deters hardens game as he has one less weapon to use against them. The only way to make them pay is to constantly makes the floater which is extremely hard to do. At the end of the day, the match up is just not good for us and it is not just one player’s fault. Beside all the matchup problems and all, analytical and effort from the rockets has kept us within striking distance in both games. I’m quite optimistic about the series and we definitely have a higher chance than what others are given even tho we are down 0-2. Believe it or not but if the rockets can hold onto the home court, I see us winning 4-2 and play blazers in the western finals.
I would prefer Tucker on Dray for the boards and Harden on Durant, but Harden needs to go and eat up space and/or put a body on someone for the rebound afterwards. Worriers will switch Harden on Curry, thereby switching CP3 on Durant and having 2 favorable matches. As the previous poster mentioned, CP3 on Igudola would prevent this but also allow CP3 to preserve energy for offense.
