The Golden State Warriors controlled the action in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, forcing the Rockets into a number of uncomfortable late-shot clock situations. After the loss, much of the conversation about Houston focused on their isolation heavy offense and whether they needed a different approach in Game 2.
The answer was both yes and no. As we saw in Game 2, the Rockets, as Mike D’Antoni said after Game 1, are who they are and will run a lot of isolation, but they did it much earlier in the clock and that allowed the ball to move more when the Warriors collapsed onto the primary ball-handler, whether James Harden or Chris Paul. The result was an offensive explosion and a 127-105 win to even the series going to Oakland.
There were some tweaks, as Eric Gordon got his wish and had more opportunities on the ball, which he rewarded the Rockets for by scoring 27 points. The ball movement was also different, but it was initiated the same way as in Game 1, just much earlier in the clock thanks to more decisive action from Houston’s top stars. That performance has shifted the questions off of Houston and onto the Warriors as to how they will adjust to do better against that penetration and kick offense that sent them scrambling in Game 2.
Steph Curry was the focal point of the Houston attack in Game 2, as he was targeted on an astounding 23 possessions as James Harden constantly initiated a switch to get the smaller Curry on him. Harden took advantage of that and the Warriors were regularly sent into scramble mode by having to rotate down to give help to Curry when he was on an island with the presumed MVP.
Kevin Durant was often the man switching off of Harden in those situations, left to stay out on Trevor Ariza (Curry’s matchup) on the perimeter while watching his teammate struggle to keep Harden in front of him. After the game, Durant was asked about how the Warriors should handle the Rockets attack and his response was pretty straight forward when asked by ESPN’s Chris Haynes.
“We just got to guard,” Durant told ESPN when asked about the Rockets targeting Curry and reserve Nick Young. “They’re making us play old-school one-on-one defense. We just got to guard and not foul. We got like three or four and-1s there in the third quarter from reaching in. We just got to guard and man up and see what happens.”
Curry echoed that sentiment, saying the whole team, including him, has to be more engaged and give a better effort on that end and try being less “cute” and playing fundamental man-to-man defense.
“We were trying to be too cute with our [defensive] exchanges and our switches and all that stuff instead of just manning up and playing one-on-one defense,” Curry said. “Whether they score or not, as hard as we’re working on the defensive end, they’re working as hard on the offensive end to get shots up. That was the difference between Game 1 and Game 2. They made a concerted effort to turn those one-on-one situations into a little bit more ball movement, and we were just a step slow, myself included.”
It’s an interesting spot that Houston puts a modern NBA team into, given that teams build their defensive philosophy around stopping the pick-and-roll game, which so often means switching aggressively with versatile defenders, that a team that simply wants to attack downhill in 1-on-1 matchups and space the floor wide presents a unique challenge. The Rockets set screens on the perimeter not with the intent of that being the beginning of the action, but as a precursor to the action to take advantage of Golden State’s commitment to switching everything.
The Warriors have built their team to be able to switch and be versatile, specifically their small-ball lineup (the Hamptons 5/Death Lineup), but Houston has found the loophole there of simply targeting Curry and go at him over and over in isolation with the best iso player in the NBA. Putting Curry in a typical pick-and-roll allows for help to easily arrive because the roll man isn’t that far off and it’s a quick dig from the weak corner to get to him, then it’s just a matter of rotating. The Rockets, though, have the floor so ridiculously spaced out that every effort to help down leaves a much longer recovery.
To that end, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Golden State switch fewer screens on the perimeter when the screen comes from Curry’s man. Early in the game, it was clear Durant wanted to fight through a soft pick to stay on Harden and on a few occasions that communication was rocky and let to Ariza slipping open at the foul line. However, with better communication and a plan from the outset to make that happen, the Warriors may be able to avoid the trap that is switching everything and keep Durant on Harden more often, forcing him to make plays against a much longer defender.
Beyond that, the Rockets also got one of the best shooting performances of the season from their role players, and to replicate that consistently will be a tall order. In all, there are some adjustments Golden State can make on defense, but as Durant and Curry note, the biggest among them is to “man up” and simply put forth a better effort on that end.
