On May 24, 2018, the fifth game between the Warriors and the Rockets started at the Toyota Center Arena, the Rockets' home stadium.
Historically, the Rockets won this game 98:94 and took the lead with a big score of 3:2 to gain the match point.
However, Paul was injured at the end of the game and missed the next two games. The Warriors also caught up and won two games in a row to take the series.
It is for this reason that every time this series is mentioned, Rockets fans feel sad and firmly believe that the Warriors took advantage and were very lucky.
"If Paul hadn't been injured, the Rockets would have had the last laugh!"
"Warriors are just lucky. Every time their opponent has a general injured!"
"Brother Deng is so unlucky, and Paul is so miserable!"
"If it weren't for injuries, Curry wouldn't be able to compare to Paul!"
…
Are Rockets fans right?
It's true if you add conditions: If Ying Guodala's injury absence is not taken into account, then the possibility of the Rockets having the last laugh without Paul being injured is indeed very high.
As I said before, although Yingodala is not as important as Curry, Durant, or even Kelley and Green, he is still indispensable!
Different from the Rockets' system, the Warriors are a whole, which emphasizes teamwork and has extremely high requirements for players' golf IQ.
Whether it's defense or offense, everyone in the Warriors will be involved, and everyone is an indispensable part, so Yingodala is very important.
The Rockets are different because their strategy is one-on-one, Harden picks off Paul, then Paul picks out Gordon. On the defensive end, there are infinite defense changes.
As long as you have a relatively high one-on-one ability, as long as you don't suffer much when switching defenses, or you can be a qualified 3D player, you can gain a foothold in the Rockets.
As for golf dealers and the like, that doesn’t matter!
What kind of basketball intelligence does Gerald Green have? His job is to catch and shoot, nothing more!
The same goes for Ariza and Tucker. It doesn't matter whether they have the ability to support or dribble. As long as they can shoot three-pointers and defend well.
Anyway, the Rockets don't have off-ball tactics - if they have one, it's pick-and-roll coverage.
Cutting and running back, covering without the ball, don’t exist!
Because of the Rockets' tactics, Paul is indeed important, because he is the most important singles point besides Harden.
If the Warriors have the same tactics as the Rockets, then Yingodala is indeed not that important, because his singles ability is much worse than Paul.
But the Warriors do not have the same tactics as the Rockets. Compared to the Rockets, the Warriors are more like a car and a whole.
For a car, even if the four wheels are not as important as the engine, they are still indispensable!
The Rockets are like... If I have to use a metaphor, the Rockets are like a carriage, pulled by three horses. Harden is the first horse, Paul is the second horse, Gordon is the third horse, and the others are
Body.
Harden is important, and Paul is indispensable, but even if both of them are absent, this carriage can still move!
Anyway, it is a horse-drawn cart. Which horse is not pulling? It is just the difference between fast and slow.
It is even said that it can be done without these three batches of horses. It is nothing more than letting people pull the carriage, and the carriage can move.
Can you move forward even at a slow speed?
The Warriors are different here. The Warriors are a whole, a car with glass. It can barely move without the doors, but it really can’t move without four wheels!
Without Paul, the Rockets' carriage would just run slower or not be able to run for a long time, but the Warriors would be unable to move without Yingodala's four wheels.
Of course, it is not impossible to change the car into a carriage without four wheels, and let Curry and Durant become horses, but that would not be the Warriors!
When it comes to who can pull a carriage faster, the Warriors cannot beat the Rockets. After all, they have been running like this for a season!
In short, in terms of team leadership ability and one-on-one ability, Yingodala is much worse than Paul, but in terms of importance to their respective teams, Yingodala is not much worse than Paul!
Deng Fang already proved this in the last game!
Because of Deng Fang's presence, Yingodala still had no problem in this game and continued to start.
The same goes for the Rockets, no one is absent.
The series score has become 3:1, and the Rockets are backed by a cliff. They must not lose this game again. The Rockets returned to their home court and were fully prepared, and everyone went all out.
As in the last game, the strategies of the two teams remain unchanged. The Rockets still have unlimited one-on-ones and try to find Curry to play. The Warriors try to cut without the ball. If they can't do it, they will go one-on-one. If they are one-on-one, they will stare at Harden.
Again, Harden is really strong, and is almost unsolvable under the current rules. Even if Yingodala comes to defend, he can only try to limit it, and there is no way to prevent Harden from scoring.
Or in other words, whether Harden can score depends solely on his touch. If his touch is good enough, it will be useless for anyone to defend him and he can only attack from a flank.
Paul's efficiency is lower than Harden's. After all, his height is limited, so he uses pick-and-rolls as much as possible, playing small or large or one-on-one Curry.
Harden also looks for pick-and-rolls, but he can still play without pick-and-rolls, but the efficiency is lower.
If Ying Guodala were to guard Paul, it would be difficult for Paul to score.
Compared to Paul, Gordon's singles ability is even stronger. Of course, Gordon's pick-and-roll threat is much smaller, so his effect on the team is smaller than Paul's.
Because they have sufficient physical strength, the Rockets have a high success rate in singles at the beginning of each game and often lead the score.
But as the game progressed, and as Harden and Paul began to consume their physical energy, the Warriors gradually gained the advantage.
One thing to know is that singles is the most energy-consuming way to score!
Everyone who has played basketball knows this.
This is still the best case scenario!
Once the Warriors find the touch as soon as they come up, or Harden or Paul can't find the touch, and the singles are unsuccessful, then every minute of the game will be wasted!
There is no way, the Warriors play as a whole, everyone is moving, although there are many singles, but after all, they are not singles in every round. Generally speaking, the physical energy consumption of Curry and Durant is not that great.
The same goes for this game. The two teams were locked in a tight score in the first quarter, and the Warriors widened the gap in the second quarter. In the third quarter, the two teams were in a stalemate for a few minutes. When Curry found his touch, the game was spent every minute.
!
You must know that the big score is now 3:1, the Rockets players are under great pressure!
It's easy for the Warriors to find their touch when they're relaxed.
Of course, the most important reason is Harden's crotch pull!
This is a critical battle of life and death, and Harden will stretch his hips in every critical battle. This is already a law!
At the end of the third quarter, the Warriors led with a score of 111:88.
The fourth quarter was almost all garbage time. The audience at Toyota Center either left early or stayed to cheer for the Warriors!
In the end, the score was fixed at 138:101. The Warriors defeated the Rockets with a big score of 4:1 and advanced to the finals first.
