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[Red94]

New post: Initial thoughts on Houston Rockets & Golden State Warriors, at the half
By: Rahat Huq

• I'm really puzzled by Houston's usage of Ty Lawson when both he and James Harden are paired together in the game.  The Rockets have basically had Lawson stand around on the perimeter like a Beverley clone, watching Harden dribble away the entire possession.  Why not involve the two guards together in the same action, with a dribble hand-off or even anything remotely multi-layered?  There's a lot of possibilities and the Rockets aren't utilizing them.
• The only bright spot was the short stint that saw Montrezl Harrell completely dominate the game.  With as bad as Terrence Jones has looked, it's tough to see Harrell ever coming out of this rotation, even after Donatas Motiejunas' return.  He's basically perfect for this matchup.  Houston has wanted to play uptempo, but until now, aside from Playoff Dwight, hasn't had a high intensity big along the frontline.
• The spacing so far has been dreadful, with multiple Warriors defenders waiting in the lane upon every Harden drive.  That's what happens when outside shots aren't falling, and that's yet another fundamental concern regarding this team which we've beaten to death.  If the shots aren't falling, Harden is easier to slow down.  In turn, there's no other options.  How about a backdoor cut or any sort of movement off the ball?  Is that too much to ask?

[Willk]

<p>
New post: Initial thoughts on Houston Rockets & Golden State Warriors, at the half
By: Rahat Huq

• I'm really puzzled by Houston's usage of Ty Lawson when both he and James Harden are paired together in the game.  The Rockets have basically had Lawson stand around on the perimeter like a Beverley clone, watching Harden dribble away the entire possession.  Why not involve the two guards together in the same action, with a dribble hand-off or even anything remotely multi-layered?  There's a lot of possibilities and the Rockets aren't utilizing them.
• The only bright spot was the short stint that saw Montrezl Harrell completely dominate the game.  With as bad as Terrence Jones has looked, it's tough to see Harrell ever coming out of this rotation, even after Donatas Motiejunas' return.  He's basically perfect for this matchup.  Houston has wanted to play uptempo, but until now, aside from Playoff Dwight, hasn't had a high intensity big along the frontline.
• The spacing so far has been dreadful, with multiple Warriors defenders waiting in the lane upon every Harden drive.  That's what happens when outside shots aren't falling, and that's yet another fundamental concern regarding this team which we've beaten to death.  If the shots aren't falling, Harden is easier to slow down.  In turn, there's no other options.  How about a backdoor cut or any sort of movement off the ball?  Is that too much to ask?

There plenty of backdoor cuts, but the rockets constantly forced the ball to the cutters and the passes were picked off. Then the Warriors would throw one pass and have a 2 on one break. You have move Ty to the bench and start Bev. Play pick n roll with Harden to start and let Ty, Bev, and Capela blitz teams off of the bench.