On May 17, the Houston Rockets faced off against the Golden State Warriors in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals at home.
Starting lineups for both sides:
Warriors: Ying Guodala, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, Clay Thompson, Stephen Curry.
Rockets: Ariza, PJ Tucker, Capela, Harden, Paul.
In this game, the light bulb combination put away its edge, but several Rockets substitutes stood up, especially Tucker and Gordon. The former scored 22 points and the latter scored 27 points. Both of them set a new record in their personal playoff careers.
Score record.
On the defensive end, the Rockets switched defenses endlessly, focusing on the Waterproof Brothers. This resulted in Curry and Clark not performing very well, and they could only rely on Durant to support them.
In the end, after the whole game was played, the Rockets defeated their opponents 127-105 and tied the total score to 1-1.
Specific scores: 21-26, 29-38, 29-31, 26-32 (the Rockets are behind).
For the Warriors, Durant scored 38 points and 3 rebounds, Draymond Green had 6 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks, Ying Guodala had 5 points and 6 rebounds, Curry had 16 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists, and Klay Thompson
8 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals, Cook had 7 points, Looney had 4 points and 5 rebounds.
For the Rockets, Harden had 27 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists, Paul had 16 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals, Capela had 5 points and 10 rebounds, and Ariza had 19 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals.
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On May 21, the Houston Rockets faced off against the Golden State Warriors in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals.
The starting lineups of the two teams in this game are:
After the whole game, the Warriors defeated the Rockets 126-85, leading the total score 2-1.
Specific scores: 22-31, 21-23, 24-34, 18-38 (Rockets in front).
In this campaign, Curry made a strong recovery. He made 13 of 23 shots, 5 of 12 three-pointers, and scored 35 points and 6 rebounds, which was the first contribution to the Warriors' win.
For the Warriors, in addition to Curry, Clay Thompson made 6 of 14 shots and scored 13 points and 3 assists. Durant made 9 of 19 shots and scored 25 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists. Ying Guodala made 4 of 6 shots and scored 10 points and 3 rebounds.
3 assists and 3 steals, Draymond Green had 10 points, 17 rebounds and 6 assists, Cook had 11 points and 2 steals, Livingston had 9 points and 4 rebounds, and Rooney had 4 points, 5 rebounds and 2 blocks.
For the Rockets, Harden made 7 of 16 shots and scored 20 points, 5 rebounds and 9 assists. Paul made 5 of 16 shots and scored 13 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists. Capela had 13 points and 8 rebounds. Tucker had 6 points and 6 rebounds. Ariza
6 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists, Gordon had 11 points and 2 rebounds, and Gerald Green had 9 points and 2 rebounds.
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On May 23, the Golden State Warriors faced the challenge of the Houston Rockets at home, and Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals began.
This game is very critical. Once the Warriors lose, the home court advantage will return to the Rockets. If the Rockets lose, the series score will become 3:1. The Rockets will be equivalent to stepping over the edge of the cliff with one foot.
It is difficult to escape the fate of being eliminated.
The final result of this game in history was that the Rockets narrowly defeated the Warriors 95-92, bringing the total score to 2-2.
Historically, the Rockets were able to do this in this game because of Paul's outstanding performance and another more important reason was Ying Guodala's absence.
Historically, Paul made a strong recovery in this game. He scored 27 points and 4 assists. Especially his 14 points in the second quarter and 7 points in the early stages of the final quarter helped the Rockets reverse the situation twice.
Dooku performed well for the Warriors. Curry had 28 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. Clay Thompson had 10 points and 4 rebounds. Looney had 4 points and 5 rebounds. Durant had 27 points, 12 rebounds and 3 assists. Drummond
-Green had 11 points, 14 rebounds and 8 assists, Jordan Bell had 6 points and 5 rebounds.
For the Rockets, Harden scored 30 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks, Capela had 8 points and 13 rebounds, Tucker had 4 points, 16 rebounds and 2 assists, Ariza had 9 points and 3 rebounds, and Gordon had 14 points.
Obviously, in the history of this game, if you just look at the performance of the core players, the two Dookus are no worse than the light bulb combination. Basically, these four players can offset each other.
The main reason why the Warriors lost was due to the poor performance of the role players, who failed to guard against the offense of other Rockets.
Of course, historically, the Warriors only lost this game by 3 points, which was a three-pointer.
Paul played really well in this game, but Yingodala's absence had a greater impact on this game!
Or it can be said that it was precisely because of Yingodala's absence that Paul was able to perform so well!
Why?
Because Yingodala is a key part of the formation of the Warriors' five death squads. Without him, the Warriors' offense will be affected, and the defensive end will be even more affected!
You know, Ying Guodala has always been the best candidate to defend the opponent's sharp figures. Whether it is James of the Cavaliers, Durant of the Thunder, or Harden of the Rockets, Ying Guodala is the one with the best defensive effect!
The Death Five sacrifices height in exchange for flexibility and oppression, which is especially suitable for dealing with magic ball systems like the Rockets.
The regular season and the first round of the playoffs have proven this: a team with a big center has no way to deal with the Rockets. If they want to deal with the Rockets, they must be able to switch defenses infinitely!
Unlimited defense changes place high demands on players' individual defense and even higher demands on players' golf IQ. When to flank, when to switch defenses, and when to make up positions, all of which require extremely high individual defense capabilities and extremely high golf IQ. At the same time,
You also need to have a good rapport with your teammates.
Yingodala is an indispensable part!
Of course, if you have to compare, the defensive end Draymond Green's role is even greater. Without him, the five players would not be able to take shape.
However, after Draymond Green, Yingodala is the most important link.
Historically, the Warriors were able to reverse the comeback in the 14-15 season finals. The main reason was that Ying Guodala started and the Warriors moved out of the death five.
Livingston has height and no problem with organizational skills, but he lacks strength and cannot withstand people. He still struggles on the defensive end. At the same time, he does not have three-pointers, which is a big trouble.
Not to mention Looney. As a big center, Looney will become the target of the lightbulb as soon as he comes on the court. This shows how much worse his defense is than Yingodala!
Not to mention Looney's drag on the Warriors on the offensive end!
If the Warriors are compared to a car, Draymond Green is the chassis, Curry is the engine, Durant is the body, and Clay is the electrical system, then Yingoda La is equivalent to the four wheels.
Chassis, engine, body, and electrical system are of course more important, but the actual functions of wheels are not much different from those four. Otherwise, do you think of a way to replace wheels?
It’s not easy to replace it!
Without Yingodala, the Warriors would not be able to play the death five, and they would not be able to put together the best lineup to restrain the Rockets. Of course the Rockets would be happy!
If the opponent is a team with a big center as its core, such as the Jazz with Gobert, the Spurs with Aldridge, or the 76ers with Embiid, then Yingodala's importance is not that great.
Looney is also a good choice to start.
But if the opponent is a small lineup, especially a lineup like the Rockets that uses the Death Five to the extreme, Yingodala is extremely important, even indispensable!
