It's do or die for the Rockets, and if they don't win the game tonight, the series is over. Here is my game summary of game four of the Western Conference Finals:
[First Half]
Steph Curry made his presence felt immediately by stripping the ball away from Capela and hitting a corner three off a pindown screen and then had another fantastic defensive possession by forcing Harden into an awful contested floater. Speaking of defense, the Warriors have been absolutely phenomenal, shutting down Isolations, pushing the Rockets out of their spots and forcing the Rockets to take midrange jumpers by running them off the three-point line into the midrange. Looney did precisely what I was discussing, running Paul off the three-point range, stayed attached to Paul enough to not allow him to get a layup and instead, Paul did a step back contested midrange jumper. The Warriors made it a point to punch the Warriors in the mouth, and they went up 12-0 instantly. Houston is consistently taking tough contested shots rather than moving the ball and setting up some kind of movement, or be more successful in creating initial penetration. I know they want to create mismatches off isolation, but while you're isolated, you need to move without the basketball and create open looks while the man in isolation does their thing.
The Rockets seem to be adamant to get the Warriors big men into isolation with Looney, and Bell they haven't done a good job in staying in front of Paul and Harden. One aspect of the game the Rockets struggled in last game was minutes without Harden. Last game, the Rockets were awful in those minutes, so if the Rockets can maintain some kind of positive or equal value, they can inch this game closer. Jordan Bell has provided some positive value for the Warriors although he hasn't been excellent in isolation defense, he has produced a ton of energy, particularly in the last 30 seconds of the first quarter leading to a putback layup and block on the other end. The minutes without Harden were successful, with a +3 box plus-minus and trimming the lead down from 11 to 8. With Thompson out, and the lack of guard depth of the Warriors could lead to massive damage in the game and gives the Warriors one less plus defender, and it shows with Harden willing to attack Curry and Livingston. The proof is the simple stat of Harden has 22 points on 7-13 shooting, and the rest of the Rockets have 14 points for 5-14 shooting as of 5 minutes left in the second quarter. He has carried the load for the Rockets and no one is helping him out.
If Houston gets initial penetration on the drive, they become a tough team to defend because they move the ball exceptionally well and all five guys can shoot the ball while defensively, they are forcing the Warriors to now shoot contested midrange jumpers and leaving Draymond Green open for thee. Now if you want to hear something surprising, James Harden is playing fantastic defensively and is the key to the Rockets taking this game over. At the half, the Rockets lead it by seven, 53-46.
[Second Half]
At the start of the half, the Warriors were a lot better on the defensive end, and this helped the Warriors to climb back into the game, and with the Rockets switching, it allowed the Warriors to get Durant on Harden or Paul in the low post. But the Rockets are doing a great job at pushing Golden State off of their spots, and being right there when the Warriors are about to attempt a three-point shot. And as soon as I say that, Steph goes on a mini 6-0 run and the first shot by Steph was because Harden wasn't far enough on the switch and then the second one was just a ridiculous shot by Steph. That is the dangerous thing about the Warriors, even though they aren't playing well, they can keep in contact by their outstanding defense and talent, while one of their stars can go off at any second and the avalanche can happen quickly. Their defense keeps the games close, their offense is what separates them. After Curry's 11 straight points, the Rockets become worried about Curry everywhere on the court, leaving multiple players open like Thompson and Durant and there lies the real value of Steph Curry who's highs probably still are the highest when it comes to a straight offense. With the gravity towards Steph, it opens everything for the Warriors. Golden State was a +17 in the 3rd quarter and it probably wraps this game up while the Warriors are up by 10.
The Rockets came back in the middle of the fourth quarter because of their ability to play defense well and get into transition and get easy baskets. They forced the Warriors into tough Isolation shots, and the Warriors weren't able to get Harden on Durant who just made the offense stagnant for the Warriors. And Chris Paul has finally decided to show up, allowing the Rockets to have two shot creators. The Rockets ran their five-out lineup with Tucker at the five and really clamped down on the Warriors forcing late clock situations then it generates into rushed and contested shots. With about three minutes to play and a Curry and one, we have a two-point game. These last few minutes will be about players making plays. One huge play in this game was a simple guard to guard screen, and instead of Green and Looney switching, Green chased Paul and allowed a wide-open Eric Gordon three. Both teams were absolutely determined to get a switch onto the weak defender, so the Rockets tried to get Curry or Looney as the primary defender, and the Warriors tried to get Harden as the defender. After a solid defensive possession and a nontimeout by Kerr and a wide open three-pointer by after missed Paul free throw and a timeout by Golden State and a Curry shot that was off, the Rockets tied up the series 2-2 with homecourt advantage. We have ourselves a series.
This game was everything that we wanted it to be, and the Rockets played hard throughout the game and fought back after a Steph Curry flurry and classic Golden State 3rd quarter. Harden, Paul were the standouts, but Gordon, Tucker, and Ariza were great as well. Both teams defenses were fantastic, and this was a game for the ages by the two best teams in the NBA. Hopefully, we see more of this going forward.
No comments:
Post a Comment