The Houston Rockets looked to be in serious trouble after a lackluster performance in Game 1 from everyone not named James Harden, but they bounced back in impressive fashion to dominate the Warriors in Game 2.
While they insist the game plan didn’t change, the way they played certainly did. There was a greater sense of urgency to get into their offense early in the shot clock and the ball moved quicker and more decisively than in Game 1. The result was an offensive onslaught that Golden State is accustomed to seeing from themselves, not opponents, as they seemed overwhelmed on the defensive end trying to figure out how to attack the Rockets.
The ball movement was great and allowed everyone to touch the ball and feel involved, which may have given the role players around Harden and Chris Paul more confidence and comfort in Game 2. Whatever it was, the role players for Houston shot the lights out, as Eric Gordon dropped 27 points in an expanded role, while P.J. Tucker had a monster game with 22 points on 8-of-9 shooting, including five three-pointers.
With Tucker, Gordon, and Trevor Ariza active and making shots, the Rockets were able to commit to their small-ball lineup and used it to blow the doors off of the vaunted Hamptons 5/Death Lineup of the Golden State Warriors. That lineup, with Andre Iguodala playing alongside the Warriors four All-Stars, had been torching teams this postseason, but has struggled against Houston so far.
In Game 2, it was the Tuck-wagon lineup, with Tucker acting as the center with Ariza, Paul, Harden, and Gordon that dominated and after the game Tucker wasn’t shy about telling USA Today’s Sam Amick he truly believes that group is the best small-ball unit in the NBA.
“That’s my favorite lineup,” Tucker, who had 22 points and hit five three-pointers after scoring one point in Game 1, told USA TODAY Sports afterwards. “We feel like we’re the best at that, when we go small. We feel like nobody can do what we do. You want to go small? Alright, fine. We’ll go small too. And like I said, our small lineup is the best in the league.”
It’s the level of confidence Houston should have and needs to have to go up against the Warriors, and that small-ball battle will likely be the key to this series. If the Rockets can keep that group on the floor, which will only happen if Ariza, Gordon, and Tucker are hitting shots, then they have a chance to do what no team has been able to do with this Warriors group and out-gun them on offense to victories.
The Warriors obviously have another gear or two they can get to when operating at peak performance, as outside of Kevin Durant they got very little from their usual suspects on offense. Klay Thompson cooled off after a hot Game 1 and Steph Curry continues to be dreadful shooting from three-point range. One would expect that to change at some point this series, but for however long the Curry slump from deep continues, the Rockets will need to pounce on those opportunities and rack up wins before the two-time MVP figures things out.
