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How are we going to defend the Warriors?

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by basketballholic, Apr 27, 2019.

  1. basketballholic

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    I do not have the answer of how to defeat them with this roster. I've been crystal clear about that. Want to read others thoughts and see if I can visualize it.
     
  2. basketballholic

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    That's been my thoughts while observing us throughout the season.
     
  3. basketballholic

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    My root concern is how are we going to defend lineup of death with KD/Draymond at the 4/5 spots when the Warriors start hunting mismatches.

    Are we going to drop Capela when Draymond sets the pick? Or are we going to switch and let Curry iso Capela up?

    Rinse and repeat with KD. Same scenario.

    My expert opinion says we're going to waste a lot of time attempting both switches and drops with Capela and then when it doesn't work we're going to take Capela out and play with PJ and Player X attempting to match up with Durant/Green.

    Player X is one of Faried, Shump, Harden, House Jr.. And maybe Gary Clark if we decide the first batch ain't gonna work.

    In any of these scenarios I see the Warriors getting KD matched up with a small and going into the post and attempting to punish us for our lack of length, which will lead to us bringing Capela back in and then the Warriors forcing us to make the original switch decision again.

    I think we are done. And this is why I think we are done. I see no possibility of matching up with them defensively with their death lineup.

    So there you have it.

    Now feel free to tell me how we're going to defend them.
     
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  4. basketballholic

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    You bring up an interesting and legitimate point about CP3 doing well on KD. That has been the case in the past.

    But after observing how KD responded to Bev.....I think it would be foolish to rely upon that matchup. KD has figured that crap out. He won't get into a bump and grind off the ball. He'll bring the ball up and just kill CP3 by shooting it over him or get the switch with a head of steam and cram it. We will have to find something else this series. The CP3/KD matchup is history. KD has evolved.
     
  5. BigShasta

    BigShasta Contributing Member

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    I’m just imagining who Curry will guard. Last year they threw Curry on Ariza which in that case was a favorable matchup for Curry defense.

    Now you have EG/Harden/CP3. You can’t really hide Curry on either of them. I expect curry to try and maintain his defensive prowess in the first half only to actively deny being on a screen against Harden or CP3.
     
  6. Sweet Lou 4 2

    Sweet Lou 4 2 Contributing Member
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    The same way we did last year before CP3 got injured? Capela was able to switch fine
     
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  7. basketballholic

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    Sorry you feel that way. But there's no way anybody would invest time and money here without being a fan of the Rockets. So quit being stupid and discuss the thread subject.
     
  8. basketballholic

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    Sure... we're going to continue to do what we've previously done against the Warriors offensively that worked well. That means Curry in the hot seat. And that means the dubs trying to get Curry to cover PJ or House or somebody other than Harden/ Paul/Ego when they're in there.

    But I'm talking about defending them.
     
  9. Roc Paint

    Roc Paint Contributing Member

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    Great first post
     
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  10. basketballholic

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    We obviously don't see the same. Capela was the biggest net negative we had. We did not win the lineups he was in. Our winning lineups were when he sat.
     
  11. Os Trigonum

    Os Trigonum Contributing Member
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    clap clap and play hard. success will follow

    ItIXg02.gif
     
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  12. basketballholic

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    That's not right. This is a different team. They only use their bigs to eat minutes. When they have to win their bigs are KD and Draymond.

    (I know you are trolling. And it was funny for about a hundredth of a second.. You need better troll lines though bro. LOL)
     
  13. BigShasta

    BigShasta Contributing Member

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    An X-Factor you have to consider is Harden guarding Durant. There have been many times where Harden has defended Durant extremely well in the past and I do expect to see that this series.
     
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  14. basketballholic

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    Interesting.

    I think same as last year dooms us because we've replaced Ariza's switchability and ability to defend the post with House Jr. And I think the Warriors have had a whole year to diagnose our switching defense to exploit the mismatches. Not yo mention Capela is less mobile than last year and he had trouble switching against them then.

    Against great teams you have to adjust on the fly. "Same as last year" is a recipe for failure.
     
  15. basketballholic

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    Yes. If they post KD in their death lineup I think we'll count with Harden. And then they'll counter with a simple down screen on Harden with KD floating to the 3- point line. Now what?
     
  16. sirbaihu

    sirbaihu Member

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    Another one of these dumbass threads:

    "Prove to me the Warriors are not the best!"

    "Oh really? Why didn't it work before?"

    "Well then why are the Warriors the champs then?"

    "Until the Rockets win, I guess I'm right and you're wrong."
     
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  17. Sweet Lou 4 2

    Sweet Lou 4 2 Contributing Member
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    Look Green is not a threat from deep you can pretty much let Capela roam. Curry, Durant, and Klay are the guys you have to harass. And when they have two guys in Bogot and Green in there that can pop threes it will limit their offense.
     
  18. basketballholic

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    Yes I understand Green is not a credible threat outside. That's why I asked if we're were going to drop Capela.

    Do you really think they're going to play pick and pop with green or spot up Green?
     
  19. NewAge

    NewAge Member

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    Yeah, this opens up another question: how do we attack the GSW defense? But let's keep it in this thread.

    Saying that last year they hid Curry on Ariza does not tell the whole story, since the Rockets hunted him with an Ariza pick and he got switched on James, "e-v-e-r-y single time", as Steph joked... Will this year be the same?

    According to Zach Lowe's article on Harden, running a pick is a complicated maneuver for a team to execute: it saps energy and can be messed up. If we can avoid setting the pick, that supposedly is better a option for us. (I admit, I have never thought about it this way, but James is breaking the playbooks, so we are in new territory). In that regard, you are correct that now we have weapons to attack Curry without a pick. First, by starting EG, we have three guards in the starting line-up (when Curry plays), so we can attack him with different people. Plus, Austin can try to get a step on him as well, that has some potential.

    So, yeah, we can run some plays attacking Steph straight, but you don't want to take away too many play from your best player (and a historically superb offensive player). If you want to hunt a Steph-Harden matchup, now you have to run another guard as the pick setter, which is a bit strange, but we'll see how it works...

    In that same vein. Since James has entered god-mode this year, can he take Klay straight? In other words, is it worth running a pick to bring Steph, if Harden can now have his way with Klay without a pick?

    Finally, I personally think that our guards should attack KD, too. As mobile as he is, we have the weapons to get a step on him, and making him work on D may be the only possible way to slow his offense.

    So there we go, we have our four plays:

    1. Attack Steph on iso straight with CP3/EG/Rivers
    2. Hunt Steph with a pick to get him switched on Harden.
    3. Iso James on Klay.
    4. Attack KD with whoever guard he's got.

    I don't think we should run any other plays, I mean like, NONE. Every possession matters, you want to maximize usage of your most productive options, not to goof around...



     
  20. basketballholic

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    Take that to another thread. You know, forget it. I'll do it myself.
     

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