Rockets vs Warriors

[TexTexTex 104]

IF the rockets can steal a game on the road, they can win the series.  Probably going to be a big bounce back game from the Warriors on Sunday, which means game 4 will be a must win and the winner of that game probably goes on to take the series.  I agree with what a lot of you have said, it starts on the defensive side to get going fast in transition and get the role players involved.  Ariza, PJ, and Gordon wont probably play at as high of a level as they did in G2, but I also think we should get better offensive production out of Harden and Capela to absorb some of that drop off.

Glad they dominated G2, has to be good for moral and prove to themselves that they belong here.

[Mitch Cumsteen 18547]

Houston played great last night. Gordon was out of his mind. Great game from him. 

I still think the Warriors are too good to lose this series but they got a taste last night of just how dangerous Houston can be. They can't go out there and do that careless turnover thing that they do and get away with it against a team as explosive as the Rockets. They also take some terrible shots early in the shot clock. I understand that it's just how they play and they make a lot of them, but last night Curry and Thompson were a combined 10/30 from the field and 3/12 from three. That just isn't happening again in this series, especially not in Oakland. All those missed shots combined with the turnovers get Houston out in transition and then they are so dangerous.

That said, the two biggest impact items from game 2 are injuries to Curry and Paul. I don't know how injured Curry is or if people are just making excuses for his poor play, but Chris Paul was noticeably limping out there. I can't believe it isn't a bigger topic of discussion (or I'm oblivious to it being a big topic), especially given his history of injury.

[Machinator 32099]

11 minutes ago, Mitch Cumsteen said:

Chris Paul was noticeably limping out there.

Commentators were talking about it quite a bit. I agree, it's something to watch. The four-day break couldn't come at a better time for both teams.

[bularry1 23]

The Paul ankle/achilles is definitely a huge concern for Rockets.   Gordon hit one real "lucky" shot, but other than that most of what he took he can make and they were open.  Same for Tucker. Tucker from the corner is money.

 

I think Rockets were a bit more aggressive offensively last night and that translated into better shots.  I also thought both teams were very physical/handsy on defense and that seemed to benefit the Rockets with lots of loose balls slapped out of GS hands.     

[Orca of Peace 109]

given the huge time off till Sunday, maybe CP3 and Curry will heal a bit

[Thatguy 8681]

11 minutes ago, bularry1 said:

The Paul ankle/achilles is definitely a huge concern for Rockets.   Gordon hit one real "lucky" shot, but other than that most of what he took he can make and they were open.  Same for Tucker. Tucker from the corner is money.

 

I think Rockets were a bit more aggressive offensively last night and that translated into better shots.  I also thought both teams were very physical/handsy on defense and that seemed to benefit the Rockets with lots of loose balls slapped out of GS hands.     

  GS is always loose with the ball. The big difference was the rockets didn't settle for outside shots. They cut hard to the basket, which led to other guys being wide open.

[dingleberryswitzer 2724]

2 hours ago, Mitch Cumsteen said:

That said, the two biggest impact items from game 2 are injuries to Curry and Paul. I don't know how injured Curry is or if people are just making excuses for his poor play, but Chris Paul was noticeably limping out there. I can't believe it isn't a bigger topic of discussion (or I'm oblivious to it being a big topic), especially given his history of injury.

I was seriously waiting for chris paul to get hurt because it always happens.  But he's also a gamer and seems to play well despite being hurt, so we'll see.  

[Rockethorn1978 6072]

Gordon will always be our biggest  x factor, He is the only one we have that has the potential and ability to have a 30 point game consistently if he is playing well. Still need Tucker 3 and d and ariza too. 

[HoustonFrog 368]

Gordon will always be our biggest  x factor, He is the only one we have that has the potential and ability to have a 30 point game consistently if he is playing well. Still need Tucker 3 and d and ariza too. 

Yep. Said it prior to series starting, our only chance is if Gordon can play like an all star.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk

[Jhawk 1075]

I think that Curry is more hurt than we have been led to believe.  I did like what I saw from a ball movement standpoint with the rockets.  There were a few possessions where they out warrior'd the warriors.  It was beautiful.  If curry is only going to produce what he has thus far (and he is still producing a ton, just not what he is capable of) then Klay really needs to step up and have a few 25+ point nights.  Oddly, with him being streaky and curry being hurt the warriors are still very deep with guys that can pass and move the ball and play D but they aren't very deep with guys who can score.  Either Curry needs to get healthy or Klay needs to become the second option for them to win.

Side note: ZaZa tried to Kawhi harden last night.  If I were Dantoni I would be sending gerald green out there to go toe to toe with Zaza any time he steps on the floor.  Fuck Zaza.

[Robin Masters 122]

16 hours ago, Michael Knight said:

Joe Johnson is still in the league

He's going to be so fresh for the finals.

[Thatguy 8681]

1 hour ago, Jhawk said:

I think that Curry is more hurt than we have been led to believe.  I did like what I saw from a ball movement standpoint with the rockets.  There were a few possessions where they out warrior'd the warriors.  It was beautiful.  If curry is only going to produce what he has thus far (and he is still producing a ton, just not what he is capable of) then Klay really needs to step up and have a few 25+ point nights.  Oddly, with him being streaky and curry being hurt the warriors are still very deep with guys that can pass and move the ball and play D but they aren't very deep with guys who can score.  Either Curry needs to get healthy or Klay needs to become the second option for them to win.

Side note: ZaZa tried to Kawhi harden last night.  If I were Dantoni I would be sending gerald green out there to go toe to toe with Zaza any time he steps on the floor.  Fuck Zaza.

Why is Curry always hurt when he doesn't play well?

[aggie08 21491]

18 minutes ago, Thatguy said:

Why is Curry always hurt when he doesn't play well?

Because he's the only superstar in recent memory trying to come back in the middle of the playoffs from significant injury.  And he's done it twice in 3 years.  But I agree, it's stupid of the media to keep bringing it up.  He doesn't need coddling.  It's the playoffs; no one is 100%.  They probably rushed him back too early in 2016 (because they had to).  But, this year, he had ample time to use the full recovery window for MCL sprains.

Thankfully, the excuses are only coming from the media, and never Curry or the Warriors.

[Patrick Bateman 3911]

I'm not sure Curry's injured as much as he's rusty and doesn't have his legs..... I'm sure there's some residual discomfort but he looked like he had heavy legs and that comes from conditioning often.  With 4 days off, I think he'll be fine physically but with more juice in the legs, his shot could follow....

 

[aggie08 21491]

100% agree. In 2016, you could tell that he was afraid to drive when he came back, and, when he did, it was of the straight line variety. He's been weaving, contorting, and planting just fine the first two games of this series, showing no hesitation when he has a mismatch. He shot just isn't there.

At some point, you just have to give Houston credit. They're wearing him down on defense, and holding, clutching, clawing on him on offense whenever possible, exhausting his already out-of-practice legs. But it's Steph; it usually comes back in a hurry. He couldn't hit the broadside of a barn through game 2 and three quarters of game 3 in the 2015 Finals, and it looked like the physicality was getting to him...then he was lights out the rest of the way.

Edited May 17, 2018 by aggie08

[Jhawk 1075]

5 hours ago, Patrick Bateman said:

I'm not sure Curry's injured as much as he's rusty and doesn't have his legs..... I'm sure there's some residual discomfort but he looked like he had heavy legs and that comes from conditioning often.  With 4 days off, I think he'll be fine physically but with more juice in the legs, his shot could follow....

 

I should have been more detailed. He is dealing with whatever injury and the things that come with that like poor conditioning and rusty touch. But you do have to say he is somewhat injured, at this level even 90% against someone like Paul or harden at full or near full strength is massive gap to bridge. Of course, now Paul is injured too. 

[Slacks 6819]

I don't care if Curry is hurt or 100% healthy. Make his ass work on defense. He knows it, too. He doesn't have the strength to defend well consistently and and produce a lot of points. He could do it in one game (I expect him to go nuts in game 3) but not for a series. He doesn't have the frame for it... Neither did Reggie Miller, and Reggie was a better scorer than Steph. Steph has more help.

Let's just see.

[aggie08 21491]

8 minutes ago, Snacks said:

I don't care if Curry is hurt or 100% healthy. Make his ass work on defense. He knows it, too. He doesn't have the strength to defend well consistently and and produce a lot of points. He could do it in one game (I expect him to go nuts in game 3) but not for a series. He doesn't have the frame for it... Neither did Reggie Miller, and Reggie was a better scorer than Steph. Steph has more help.

Let's just see.

You had me until right here. This opinion is bad, and you should feel bad.

Klay is much more the modern day Reggie Miller, but Klay's a better defender and an even better shooter.

Edited May 18, 2018 by aggie08

[Dutchrudder 11135]

3 hours ago, aggie08 said:

You had me until right here. This opinion is bad, and you should feel bad.

Klay is much more the modern day Reggie Miller, but Klay's a better defender and an even better shooter.

No you can't say that, since the Pacers were one of the best teams Jordan had to play in the East every year. We have to keep up the narrative that only Lebron has had an easy path to the finals most years! GET IN LINE SOLDIER!!!

Edited May 18, 2018 by Dutchrudder

[52-80 19147]

2 hours ago, Dutchrudder said:

No you can't say that, since the Pacers were one of the best teams Jordan had to play in the East every year. We have to keep up the narrative that only Lebron has had an easy path to the finals most years! GET IN LINE SOLDIER!!!

Shaq? Ewing? So?

The fuck you talking about

[Planet Houston 4930]

11 hours ago, Snacks said:

Reggie was a better scorer than Steph.

[Dutchrudder 11135]

5 hours ago, 52-80 said:

Shaq? Ewing? So?

The fuck you talking about

The 96-98 East playoffs were a cakewalk for the Bulls and comparable to what Lebron has faced any given year he has gone to the Finals. The only team that gave them a scare was the Pacers that took them to 7. 

Edited May 18, 2018 by Dutchrudder

[Teddy Tucker 18]

Take the Jordan talk elsewhere he’s not playing in this series and his overrated ass would have got swept by Akeem in the 95 ship anyway if he made it 

[aggie08 21491]

49 minutes ago, Dutchrudder said:

The 96-98 East playoffs were a cakewalk for the Bulls and comparable to what Lebron has faced any given year he has gone to the Finals. The only team that gave them a scare was the Pacers that took them to 7. 

Gotta stop you there. I agree that the quality of teams in the East during those years (really, the entire 90's) is HIGHLY overstated.

...but it's still better than what LeBron has faced from the East this decade. There were at least a few surefire Hall-of-Famers on the teams MJ beat (the aforementioned Ewing, Shaq--who crushed His Airness the year prior--Reggie, Zo, etc.).

During LeBron's run, only the Celtics had Hall-of-Famers, and they were in their twilight years by the time LeBron finally beat them in Miami. Depending on your thoughts on Paul George, Jayson Tatum (a damn rookie) probably stands the best chance to make the Hall of Fame out of all the non-Pierce/KG/Allen players LeBron has faced in these 8 seasons...and his team looks poised to end LeBron's run.

Edited May 18, 2018 by aggie08

[aggie08 21491]

5 minutes ago, Teddy Tucker said:

Take the Jordan talk elsewhere he’s not playing in this series and his overrated ass would have got swept by Akeem in the 95 ship anyway if he made it 

This is what happens when there's 4 days between games.

[Dutchrudder 11135]

37 minutes ago, Teddy Tucker said:

Take the Jordan talk elsewhere he’s not playing in this series and his overrated ass would have got swept by Akeem in the 95 ship anyway if he made it 

Sorry, didn't mean to distract from the riveting discussion about which team will make more 3s next game. Carry on.

[52-80 19147]

30 minutes ago, Dutchrudder said:

Sorry, didn't mean to distract from the riveting discussion about which team will make more 3s next game. Carry on.

[dbecks 442]

What are there, like, 6 days off between games 2 & 3?  WTF?!?  Are they traveling by horseback or something?

[Jhawk 1075]

3 hours ago, aggie08 said:

Gotta stop you there. I agree that the quality of teams in the East during those years (really, the entire 90's) is HIGHLY overstated.

...but it's still better than what LeBron has faced from the East this decade. There were at least a few surefire Hall-of-Famers on the teams MJ beat (the aforementioned Ewing, Shaq--who crushed His Airness the year prior--Reggie, Zo, etc.).

During LeBron's run, only the Celtics had Hall-of-Famers, and they were in their twilight years by the time LeBron finally beat them in Miami. Depending on your thoughts on Paul George, Jayson Tatum (a damn rookie) probably stands the best chance to make the Hall of Fame out of all the non-Pierce/KG/Allen players LeBron has faced in these 8 seasons...and his team looks poised to end LeBron's run.

Do you even melo bro???

[Rockethorn1978 6072]

I fully expect the warriors to come out blowing the doors off, no one will pick Houston until they see them respond to adversity and play through it and continue to play at a high level and not have a one game explosion. 

[maninblack 7974]

 

[Cameltoe 114]

Wow, Eric Gordon has come a long way from the skinny little one-and-done freshman at Indiana U. Looks like he's put on about 20 lbs too.

[BigOrange1 6433]

wow, you're really on top of things!

[XYZ 2154]

On 5/17/2018 at 9:08 AM, TexTexTex said:

IF the rockets can steal a game on the road, they can win the series.

Great insight there.

[Machinator 32099]

Hoping for a more competitive game today than we got yesterday.

[Patrick Bateman 3911]

Early on, it's the same theme for the Rockets on offense..... attack Curry on the dribble.  Whoever it is, attack him going to the rim and it's smart and effective.

[MNLonghornFUKM 8817]

the fuck just happened?

[Machinator 32099]

Fireworks.

[Patrick Bateman 3911]

Curry 1-6 from 3..... You can tell they were trying to get him going early and he's had some nice drives but can't get the outside shot going....

[Machinator 32099]

Curry is determined to shoot himself out of this slump.

[TtomTerrific 200]

this might be the best basketball I have ever seen. 

 

and I am an old school fan of "Showtime"... but this... holy fuck! 

NBA players that are the largest humans anyone of us know, running wind spirits like this for hours a night and still have the heart beat slow enough to be assassins with these shots is truly a study in kinesiology. 

I am normally bored by the NBA, But holy fuck! 

 

Edited May 21, 2018 by TtomTerrific
I can't spell kinesiology

[Machinator 32099]

Some interesting substitution patterns thus far. Gordon coming on early, Curry not playing the full first quarter.

[Patrick Bateman 3911]

2 minutes ago, Machinator said:

Some interesting substitution patterns thus far. Gordon coming on early, Curry not playing the full first quarter.

I think Kerr finally woke up.  He was resting Curry and KD at the same time since Curry has come back.  Finally he left KD in with the bench so they can play offense through him.  They lose some defense but pick up offense.  And it's been +9 since the bench came in..... That's huge for the Warriors, b/c their bench has been meh.

Edited May 21, 2018 by Patrick Bateman

[Machinator 32099]

More positive contributions from Nick Young.

[Machinator 32099]

1 minute ago, Patrick Bateman said:

I think Kerr finally woke up.  He was resting Curry and KD at the same time since Curry has come back.  Finally he left KD in with the bench so they can play offense through him.  They lose some defense but pick offense.  And it's been +9 since the bench came in..... That's huge for the Warriors, b/c their bench has been meh.

That last lineup was a good mix. More defense than offense, but when the two offensive threats are KD and Nick Young, you'll be fine.

[Machinator 32099]

Before that foul, it felt like the score had been stuck at 37-27 for eternity.

[Orca of Peace 109]

Rockets can't make layups or FTs and still only a 9 pt game. Feels like GS should be up 25.

Also#12 should never play again. He's awful.  Rockets should play Nene more. Is he hurt?

[Machinator 32099]

Nene is too slow for this matchup.

[Orca of Peace 109]

i feel KD is going to go off for a bunch 

[Orca of Peace 109]

Just now, Machinator said:

Nene is too slow for this matchup.

nah, he's fine and always better than 12.