The Golden State Warriors got out of Houston with a two-game split in their NBA playoff series. But the Rockets defense in Game 2 gives them a roadmap to a series victory.
The beauty of the NBA playoffs lies in the unexpected.
A lot seems to follow a certain script until it doesn’t, and Wednesday night was a great example.
The Houston Rockets had an exceptional regular season and locked down the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference, but the consensus opinion was the Golden State Warriors, who have looked like a title contender since acquiring Jimmy Butler, would use their tested veteran roster to outwit and outplay the Rockets.
Game 1 of their series seemed to validate that thought as the Warriors stymied the Rockets 95-85, and there’s still every chance the Warriors, who are going home for Game 3, will take this series in the way everyone expected.
But Game 2 Wednesday night proved the Rockets weren’t just happy to be here and that they were going to have their postseason moment. They once again made things difficult for Golden State’s offense and found enough offense of their own to pull away to a 109-94 victory.
There’s a fine line between desperation and urgency, and the Rockets walked it to perfection in Game 2, playing with high energy but still under control for the most part.
Missing Jimmy
One of the unexpected turns of Game 2 was unfortunate, as Butler left the game after landing hard on his back and did not return after only playing eight minutes.
Butler has called himself the Robin to Stephen Curry’s Batman, but, with apologies to Dick Grayson, he’s more important than that. Golden State’s acquisition of him in early February has since transformed the offense, giving it the extra juice it needed. Curry makes it rain, but Butler has brought thunder to the storm, getting to the foul line, making decisive plays when the defense is scrambling, and taking advantage of any mismatch.
Without Butler in Game 2, the Rockets forced even more of their attention on Curry, and the seventh-seeded Warriors didn’t have a counterpunch. Curry’s numbers ended up a bit subpar by his extraordinary standards (20 points on 6-of-15 shooting with nine assists), but the striking thing was how hard everything was for him. The Rockets sent wave after wave of tough defenders at him. Curry, usually a player who thrives in the chaos of his making, found himself flustered more often than usual and committed more turnovers (six) as well.
It wasn’t just a bad jump shooting night for the Warriors, either. That happens to every team now and then in the playoffs and can often be written off as an aberration.
The Warriors shot 39.5% on 3s, even above their regular season average (36.4%). It was their inability to get anything going inside the arc that cost them.
After shooting 54.5% on 2s in Game 1, the Warriors fell off to 43.2% in Game 2. The Rockets stifled the Butler-less Warriors inside the arc, and it came down to Houston’s excellent recovery ability.
Bend But Don’t Break
Offense is normally about obtaining leverage. There are a lot of NBA players who can make plays when the defense is already tilted, but very few players who can consistently bend the defense enough to get the initial advantage.
Stephen Curry is one of the best offensive players ever and coach Steve Kerr has constantly used the threat of the star guard to generate offense elsewhere.
Like every defense before them, the Rockets have fallen victim to Curry tilting the defense. But they have been able to shrink that advantage, recovering more quickly and leaving less holes while they do it. The Rockets are comfortable leaving a help defender on Curry for an extra beat because they’re confident they can restabilize before the other Warriors can make them pay.
This is a standard Warriors play that typically frees up Curry for an open 3-point attempt or allows the team a one-man advantage on a rotating defense. Defender Alperen Sengun takes an extra step toward Curry to ensure he is corralled before recovering to Moses Moody. Moody does the right thing and blows by the recovering Sengun, but Jalen Green is immediately in the lane to contest while Sengun recovers to Green’s man, Quinten Post. The Warriors get an attempt from the corner, but it’s Gary Payton II shooting over a closing Amen Thompson, which is a shot the Rockets are more than happy to allow.
Moody probably should’ve hit Post quickly there, but the Rockets are going to live with most of the Warriors’ perimeter players having to make quick decisions and shots. In Game 2, the non-Steph Warriors weren’t up to the playmaking challenge without Butler. Curry had nine assists, but nobody else has more than Kevon Looney’s three.
There are several instances of the Rockets taking away advantages created by Curry. Their athleticism and relentless recovering are taking away the easy buckets the Warriors are used to getting. The shots that used to be wide open are now met by one of the several long, athletic Rockets challenging it.
The other Warriors have to speed up their process when Curry gets them an advantage. They can’t turn down good shots in hopes of something better. Against the Rockets, there usually won’t be something better.
Warriors power forward Draymond Green is a quick processor, but the Rockets are ignoring him on the perimeter and not letting him be a playmaker at all. Green was held to one assist, the first time he’s been held without multiple assists since he left a Jan. 18 matchup after three minutes with an injury.
The rest of the Warriors in Game 2 didn’t strike fear into the Rockets’ hearts as scorers or playmakers. Brandin Podziemski was scoreless. Jonathan Kuminga was dusted off for 11 points but shot 4 of 12 from the field. Pat Spencer shot the ball well in limited minutes but hasn’t been a consistent part of the rotation this season.
Besides Curry and Moody (who had a decent shooting performance), Post popped the most by simply being big and able to catch and shoot. He hit 4-of-8 3-point attempts for 12 points and took every open look he got without hesitating. It was the kind of decisiveness the Warriors need.
When Butler will be back is to be determined. Kerr said the six-time All-Star will have an MRI on Thursday and the Warriors’ hopes as a playoff threat likely ride on those results. Without Butler, the Rockets will continue to tighten the screws on Curry and make other players beat them.
With their elite defenders’ scrambling ability, it’s a bet the Rockets could win.
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