With Beverley back, the Rockets have fielded their strongest starting lineup, while the Warriors have not changed. The starting lineup is still the five most used in the regular season: Curry, Klay, Barnes, Green, and Bogut.
In fact, Deng Fang can directly put out a five-small lineup, so they have almost no chance of losing!
The biggest problem with the Rockets' lineup is that Howard cannot be guarded. He can only stay in the penalty area. Once he comes out, Curry can train him.
Therefore, if the Warriors put up a five-small lineup, the Rockets' defense will not be able to solve Curry.
But Deng Fang didn't do this because the current Rockets are not worthy!
The Rockets look like they have a strong lineup on paper, but in reality they are just paper tigers, and they are just like that when they really fight!
Is Beverley good at defense?
Awesome, but he can't solve Curry alone!
Beverley is pretty good against those one-on-one monsters, but against Curry, it's impossible for him to limit Curry by himself!
In history, the Warriors swept the Rockets 4:1 in this series. There is no suspense. Could it be that one more Beverley Rockets can make a comeback?
In that case, the boss of the Rockets will not be Harden or Howard, but Beverley!
Beverley is different from Iguodala. His function is very single, which is defense, while Iguodala not only defends, but also attacks and organizes. The two people cannot be compared.
Beverley's absence does have an impact on the Rockets' defense, but Terry, who replaced him, plays a greater role on the offensive end than Beverley. This is also a fact!
Beverley has three-pointers, but Terry's three-pointers are more accurate. Moreover, he has rich experience and is better than Beverley in terms of organization.
So having one more Beverley is good for the Rockets, but it won't make a qualitative difference!
The referee blows the whistle and the game begins.
The Rockets took the lead in gaining the ball. Beverley dribbled to the frontcourt and handed the ball to Harden.
Harden called Howard to come up, and Howard came up to block Clay, and then followed up.
Bogut stepped forward to block Harden, and Green shrank near the penalty area. On the one hand, he looked at Howard, but on the other hand, he did not let Harden break through.
As for Josh Smith, if he can make a three-pointer, he will admit it!
Josh Smith's three-point shooting is really good this season, and he was also responsible for the reversal in the last round, but his three-point shooting is not reliable, so it is okay to let it go.
Since he has no technical expertise, Josh Smith is still willing to take shots from the outside. When he was with the Hawks, he liked to throw around on the outside and gamble on touch, and was often criticized by commentators.
But there is nothing I can do. There is no speed advantage in breaking through, and the dribbling skills are not top-notch. It is impossible to go in with just relying on physical advantages!
Even if possible, one or two will work, and two more must be taken care of!
The opponent shrinks inside and focuses on breaking through, and the teammate can solve the problem with a little help in defense.
It is also for this reason that Josh Smith likes to throw things outside.
Although the three-point shooting percentage is good this season, it is only because he does not take many shots and is lucky.
In short, occasionally scoring one or two goals, and occasionally making one or two accurate shots are of no use. It is unrealistic to rely on Josh Smith to kill the opponent. There is no problem in leaving Josh Smith short!
To take a step back, even if Josh Smith is really accurate and maintains a good performance, the Warriors are not afraid!
Because warriors are more accurate!
This is the advantage of shooting accurately yourself - you have the confidence!
With Green assisting in defense, Harden was unable to pass the ball to Howard. Taking advantage of this gap, Clay quickly returned to Harden.
Bogut switched to Josh Smith on the outside.
Seeing that there was no chance, Harden handed the ball to Smith and asked him to challenge one on one.
Josh Smith has a breakthrough, and he is mismatched against Bogut, so he can give it a try.
But warriors are not afraid!
Although Bogut is slow, he is experienced and not stupid. Facing Josh Smith, he takes a step back to defend and stretches out his right hand. There is nothing Josh Smith can do!
If it's Harden or another small guard, Bogut really can't do anything, but against Josh Smith, who is not very good at dribbling and has average speed, Bogut is still fine.
Josh Smith dribbled the ball a few times, but seeing that he couldn't get rid of Bogut, he had to throw the ball away.
Fortunately, Josh Smith was lucky and the basketball hit the net, and the Rockets scored first.
However, Deng Fang didn't care and signaled the team members to continue.
If you can, just rely on Smith's three-pointer to kill me, then I'll admit it!
So what if we lose a game?
Do you have the ability to kill me four times?
You can break out, but we can't?
Looking back, Curry and Bogut were in a pick-and-roll, and the Rockets chose to bypass it. Howard stepped forward and huddled inside. Beverley forcefully squeezed past Bogut, trying to interfere with Curry.
But Curry didn't give Beverley a chance at all. The moment Bogut blocked Beverley, Curry took a step to the side, then raised his hand and threw Howard!
Bogut's size is there, so Beverly can squeeze in if he wants to.
Even if we can squeeze through, it will still take some time, right?
This is not enough time for others, but it is enough for Curry!
Curry's shooting speed is historic and unrivaled!
The basketball drew a beautiful arc in the air and hit the net!
Although they are both hollow and three-point, everyone’s reaction is different!
Josh Smith made a shot, and the Rockets were very excited - wow, made one, not bad, I feel pretty good today!
As for the Warriors - it's up to you, if you have the ability, keep throwing it!
And Curry made a three-pointer, and the Rockets were speechless - this... shot like this, were they fooled?
On the Warriors side - OK, it looks like you can watch Curry perform in this game!
To put it bluntly: Josh Smith is in the dark and depends on the weather, while Curry is doing routine operations. Failure to make a shot is the new thing.
The game continues.
The Rockets mainly focused on Harden and Howard's pick-and-roll. The Warriors resolutely defended and did not give the two a chance. Josh Smith kept taking shots from the outside.
After scoring two goals, Josh Smith lost his touch and began to break through.
But Bogut's defense was very good and he was well prepared. As a result, Smith was caught twice in a row!
The Warriors took advantage of Smith's mistake and successfully launched two counterattacks, and the score immediately opened up!
In desperation, the Rockets began to hand the ball to Howard and let him play singles in the penalty area.
But Bogut's defense is not good, and Howard has no skills and just relies on his body. Bogut is best at dealing with such a player!
Although he scored two, Howard also took five shots!
On the Warriors' side, Curry, on the other hand, took advantage of Howard's military training and made consecutive three-pointers!
5 three-pointers are just normal for Curry!
With Curry's three-pointers, the Warriors led by double digits halfway through the first quarter! (To be continued)
