As you know, what has made the Warriors so great these past few years is that they combine the league’s best offense with probably its best defense. They’re the one team in the league that can confidently score with the Rockets, but also present serious challenges at the other end. Yesterday’s loss started out poorly, largely in part due to a slew of turnovers committed by Houston in the early going. It wasn’t the Rockets being sloppy – the Warriors just knew their tendencies.
See how Draymond stops right short of contesting Beverley in the paint, anticipating the pass to the corner? He knows the Rockets want to kick drive out to shooters in the corner. Probably no other ‘big’ in the league makes that play.
I counted multiple times when this happened – the Warriors basically create a wall around James Harden. Instead of being out in space after he makes his crossover, watch how Klay Thompson boxes him into a crowd.
