King James Gospel
Fansided

Four lessons the Houston Rockets taught us about the Golden State Warriors

By Nathan Beighle

CLEVELAND, OH - JANUARY 15: LeBron James
CLEVELAND, OH - JANUARY 15: LeBron James /
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HOUSTON, TX – MAY 28: Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors defends against James Harden #13 of the Houston Rockets in the first half of Game Seven of the Western Conference Finals of the 2018 NBA Playoffs at Toyota Center on May 28, 2018 in Houston, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)
HOUSTON, TX – MAY 28: Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors defends against James Harden #13 of the Houston Rockets in the first half of Game Seven of the Western Conference Finals of the 2018 NBA Playoffs at Toyota Center on May 28, 2018 in Houston, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images) /

Attack Stephen Curry/Warrior bigs defensively

Throughout the series, the Houston Rockets attacked Steph Curry on the defensive end. The three-point shooting prowess of James Harden made it impossible to go under or over the pick-and-roll. That said, Golden State was forced to switch pick-and-rolls.

That opened up James Harden to get matched up with the Warrior defender of his choosing. Coach D’Antoni and his staff choose for Harden to continually switch on Curry.

For comparison’s sake, Curry guarded Harden 12.4 possessions per game. Durant guarded him 15.0, and Harden’s primary defender Klay Thompson guarded him 21.4. Curry gave up 7.3 points, Durant 6.4 and Thompson 5.6. With far fewer possessions on Harden, Curry allowed the MVP-hopeful to score more frequently.

Also, Harden shot over 40% from deep when Curry guarded him and under 30% when he defended by the other two Warriors.

If Harden can slice up Curry, just imagine what James can do if Lue adopts the same gameplan. However, that’s just the beginning of what we can learn from Houston.