[Game] Rockets @ Kings - Friday, 11/6/15 - 7:30 PT, 10:30 ET
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Ah. But then we'd need to look at shooting percentage and who was guarding who when they scored and all of that.
You may not like my snarkiness or my approach, but in trying to catch me misbehaving or misrepresenting, you're missing my point in all of this. It's all about perspective and what biases you have going into it. I didn't tell Sac Kings he was wrong for how he views it. The person who wrote the article obviously looked at stats. He took the time to look up Anderson. But his recollection of Mclemore was different and not colored by the constant complaints of Kings fans.
You may not like my snarkiness or my approach, but in trying to catch me misbehaving or misrepresenting, you're missing my point in all of this. It's all about perspective and what biases you have going into it. I didn't tell Sac Kings he was wrong for how he views it. The person who wrote the article obviously looked at stats. He took the time to look up Anderson. But his recollection of Mclemore was different and not colored by the constant complaints of Kings fans.
No the person who did this writeup was a semi-clueless outsider who might know as much about Kings players as the 200th most knowledgible poster on this board.
Which is both 100% true, and 100% understandable. I watch a lot of NBA ball, but I would never presume to go on to clutchfans and tell them the way it was with their minor players. At least not the diehards who knew their stuff. They have simply watched far far more of Clint Capella than I have.
Which is both 100% true, and 100% understandable. I watch a lot of NBA ball, but I would never presume to go on to clutchfans and tell them the way it was with their minor players. At least not the diehards who knew their stuff. They have simply watched far far more of Clint Capella than I have.
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I did look at the shooting percentages: that .455 was lowered by the one game where Harden went for a "mere" twenty-six, on 10-for-31 shooting.
I'm not trying to "catch" you doing anything. Not only do I have better things to do with my time, but I generally agree with you about McLemore in most respects. On this particularly point, though, I feel that you've lost and are refusing to own it, and are instead deflecting, as @dude12 made accusations of earlier.
... Which doesn't mean it was accurate. The night that Harden went for 44, McLemore played 46 minutes; I'm sure that McLemore wasn't guarding him the whole time, but it seems improbable that all of Harden's buckets came against somebody else, either.
I'm not trying to "catch" you doing anything. Not only do I have better things to do with my time, but I generally agree with you about McLemore in most respects. On this particularly point, though, I feel that you've lost and are refusing to own it, and are instead deflecting, as @dude12 made accusations of earlier.
... Which doesn't mean it was accurate. The night that Harden went for 44, McLemore played 46 minutes; I'm sure that McLemore wasn't guarding him the whole time, but it seems improbable that all of Harden's buckets came against somebody else, either.
I didn't know it was a win or lose situation.
But Harden shot 38 percent combined in 2 of the games on 63 shots. That's volume shooting. You better score some points when you're taking 30 shots a game. So his monster game of 51 points actually raised his average. Perspective is all I'm talking about.
I didn't say how much Ben guarded Harden. I'd actually like to watch film and see what really was going on. But from this writers opinion, Ben made Harden work.
I'll take the loss though.
But Harden shot 38 percent combined in 2 of the games on 63 shots. That's volume shooting. You better score some points when you're taking 30 shots a game. So his monster game of 51 points actually raised his average. Perspective is all I'm talking about.
I didn't say how much Ben guarded Harden. I'd actually like to watch film and see what really was going on. But from this writers opinion, Ben made Harden work.
I'll take the loss though.
Call me crazy, but I actually feel like I have a great strategy for tonight's game. Here me out...
Kings Starting Lineup:
PG - Rondo
SG - Belinelli
SF - Gay
PF - Cauley-Stein
C - Koufos
Rockets Starting Lineup:
PG - Lawson
SG - Harden
SF - Thornton
PF - Ariza
C - Koufos
Why It Will Work on Offense?
The Rockets have a big decision to make today. Who will guard Gay?
Say they put their excellent wing defender (Ariza) on him, that means they are either putting Harden or Thornton on Cauley-Stein. If that's the case, you have Rondo run a pick & roll with Cauley-Stein and either look for the lob or look for Capela or Ariza sliding off to provide help. If there is help, I have confidence in Rondo finding Gay or Koufos in space which will hopefully end up with us breaking down the defense and finding a good shot.
If the Rockets decide to leave Ariza on Cauley-Stein, that means you either have Harden or Thornton on Gay. That is an instant mismatch. Gay has 4" (standing reach) on Harden and 8" (standing reach) on Thornton. Either have Gay post up and go to work on the smaller player which will result in Gay muscling his way closer to the basket for a higher percentage look, a jumper over a much smaller defender, or a pass out of a double team which will help us break down their defense for an easy look. In addition to posting up, you could have Rondo & Gay run a pick & roll hopefully finding Gay with some space or possibly getting Lawson to switch onto Gay.
Lastly, with Belinelli inserted into the starting lineup you have your best 3pt shooter out there to help space the floor and another scoring option so the burden does not all fall on Gay. Not to mention, he will also have a poor defender chasing him around the floor (Harden or Thornton).
Why It Will Work on Defense?
Obviously, the goal is to slow down Harden, and I want to start this segment off by saying that sometimes the best way to slow down a star player on offense is to have them work on Defense. If Harden is guarding Belinelli, he's going to be running around all over the place and fighting through screens just to stick with him. That should zap some of his energy. If he's guarding Gay, he obviously is going to have to focus in or risk Gay going off on him. Not to mention Gay taking him in the post can wear him down as well. If he has to guard Cauley-Stein, he's likely going to have to fight for position down low against a 7'0". Anyway you slice it, I think Harden will have to spend some of his energy on the defensive end which will hopefully make it easier for us to slow him down when we play defense.
As for who should guard Harden, I want to start out the game with Cauley-Stein guarding him. Crazy I know, but he might be the best perimeter defender we have at this point. Since the Rockets have hardly any bigs for this game, we're not hurting ourselves by tasking Cauley-Stein to guard someone on the perimeter tonight. I think Harden could run into trouble with Cauley-Stein's combination of quickness and length. Cauley-Stein won't have to leave his feet to challenge his shots and therefore shouldn't be as prone to biting on his pump fakes. Also, it's going to make it very tough for Harden to finish at the rim with a 7'0" athletic, shotblocking big man right next to him.
I also think it would work well when he trys to do a pick and roll. If it comes down to a switch, I don't think Cauley-Stein switching to Thornton, Ariza, or Capela is a liability. The only liability would be Belinelli, Gay, or Koufos ending up guarding Harden, but regardless of who ends up guarding Harden towards the last seconds of the shot clock (Belinelli, Gay, or Koufos), you'll have a very quick and athletic 7'0" shotblocker waiting to rotate over if Harden tries to drive the lane. There should always be someone there to contest (Koufos or Cauley-Stein).
As for the rest of the defensive assignments, I don't think we have any mismatches that we should be worried about. Rondo on Lawson, Belinelli on Thornton, Gay on Ariza, and Koufos on Capela.
Lastly, I think this starting 5 would be able to control the boards. Koufos will obviously do a solid job in the paint. Gay and Rondo are good rebounders for their positions, and depending on how the Rockets want to defend us, you could end up with Cauley-Stein having a 7.5" (standing reach) advantage over the guy that is supposed to check him on the glass (Harden). Second chance opportunities should come with ease.
Bench Matchups
As depleted as there team is, they still have two quality players coming off there bench tonight, and that is Beverely & Brewer. With Howard out, they will likely go only 3 deep and use Harrell with the previous two.
We should be able to outperform their bench. Collison will be key and will have his work cut out for him going against Beverly, but McLemore, Anderson, Casspi, & Moreland should be the other guys that get time. We'll need Collison and Casspi to provide the scoring punch off the bench with McLemore & Anderson out there to help space the floor (that is if they can actually knock down their shots).
I want to see Moreland get some time this game. Harden and Lawson are very good at breaking down defenses and getting into the paint. I want us to have at least one of Cauley-Stein, Koufos, & Moreland on the floor at all times. We should have a rim protector on the floor for the entire game to help combat Harden & Lawson's driving ability. Besides, Harrell is a rookie, so I'm not really worried about him taking advantage of Moreland down low. Moreland has length on him and is a solid rebounder. I think Moreland can hold his own while also giving us some much needed rim protection while Koufos & Cauley-Stein are out of the game.
Overview
I like our chances if this is our strategy today, and the fact that we are at home should only help. Either way, it would be a very interesting experiment to see how Cauley-Stein could handle Harden. It would be very useful information going forward, and I really don't think there is much of a price to pay to find out that information considering the Rockets are going with a very small lineup. I just really hope Karl doesn't let them off the hook and match their small-ball lineup.
Kings Starting Lineup:
PG - Rondo
SG - Belinelli
SF - Gay
PF - Cauley-Stein
C - Koufos
Rockets Starting Lineup:
PG - Lawson
SG - Harden
SF - Thornton
PF - Ariza
C - Koufos
Why It Will Work on Offense?
The Rockets have a big decision to make today. Who will guard Gay?
Say they put their excellent wing defender (Ariza) on him, that means they are either putting Harden or Thornton on Cauley-Stein. If that's the case, you have Rondo run a pick & roll with Cauley-Stein and either look for the lob or look for Capela or Ariza sliding off to provide help. If there is help, I have confidence in Rondo finding Gay or Koufos in space which will hopefully end up with us breaking down the defense and finding a good shot.
If the Rockets decide to leave Ariza on Cauley-Stein, that means you either have Harden or Thornton on Gay. That is an instant mismatch. Gay has 4" (standing reach) on Harden and 8" (standing reach) on Thornton. Either have Gay post up and go to work on the smaller player which will result in Gay muscling his way closer to the basket for a higher percentage look, a jumper over a much smaller defender, or a pass out of a double team which will help us break down their defense for an easy look. In addition to posting up, you could have Rondo & Gay run a pick & roll hopefully finding Gay with some space or possibly getting Lawson to switch onto Gay.
Lastly, with Belinelli inserted into the starting lineup you have your best 3pt shooter out there to help space the floor and another scoring option so the burden does not all fall on Gay. Not to mention, he will also have a poor defender chasing him around the floor (Harden or Thornton).
Why It Will Work on Defense?
Obviously, the goal is to slow down Harden, and I want to start this segment off by saying that sometimes the best way to slow down a star player on offense is to have them work on Defense. If Harden is guarding Belinelli, he's going to be running around all over the place and fighting through screens just to stick with him. That should zap some of his energy. If he's guarding Gay, he obviously is going to have to focus in or risk Gay going off on him. Not to mention Gay taking him in the post can wear him down as well. If he has to guard Cauley-Stein, he's likely going to have to fight for position down low against a 7'0". Anyway you slice it, I think Harden will have to spend some of his energy on the defensive end which will hopefully make it easier for us to slow him down when we play defense.
As for who should guard Harden, I want to start out the game with Cauley-Stein guarding him. Crazy I know, but he might be the best perimeter defender we have at this point. Since the Rockets have hardly any bigs for this game, we're not hurting ourselves by tasking Cauley-Stein to guard someone on the perimeter tonight. I think Harden could run into trouble with Cauley-Stein's combination of quickness and length. Cauley-Stein won't have to leave his feet to challenge his shots and therefore shouldn't be as prone to biting on his pump fakes. Also, it's going to make it very tough for Harden to finish at the rim with a 7'0" athletic, shotblocking big man right next to him.
I also think it would work well when he trys to do a pick and roll. If it comes down to a switch, I don't think Cauley-Stein switching to Thornton, Ariza, or Capela is a liability. The only liability would be Belinelli, Gay, or Koufos ending up guarding Harden, but regardless of who ends up guarding Harden towards the last seconds of the shot clock (Belinelli, Gay, or Koufos), you'll have a very quick and athletic 7'0" shotblocker waiting to rotate over if Harden tries to drive the lane. There should always be someone there to contest (Koufos or Cauley-Stein).
As for the rest of the defensive assignments, I don't think we have any mismatches that we should be worried about. Rondo on Lawson, Belinelli on Thornton, Gay on Ariza, and Koufos on Capela.
Lastly, I think this starting 5 would be able to control the boards. Koufos will obviously do a solid job in the paint. Gay and Rondo are good rebounders for their positions, and depending on how the Rockets want to defend us, you could end up with Cauley-Stein having a 7.5" (standing reach) advantage over the guy that is supposed to check him on the glass (Harden). Second chance opportunities should come with ease.
Bench Matchups
As depleted as there team is, they still have two quality players coming off there bench tonight, and that is Beverely & Brewer. With Howard out, they will likely go only 3 deep and use Harrell with the previous two.
We should be able to outperform their bench. Collison will be key and will have his work cut out for him going against Beverly, but McLemore, Anderson, Casspi, & Moreland should be the other guys that get time. We'll need Collison and Casspi to provide the scoring punch off the bench with McLemore & Anderson out there to help space the floor (that is if they can actually knock down their shots).
I want to see Moreland get some time this game. Harden and Lawson are very good at breaking down defenses and getting into the paint. I want us to have at least one of Cauley-Stein, Koufos, & Moreland on the floor at all times. We should have a rim protector on the floor for the entire game to help combat Harden & Lawson's driving ability. Besides, Harrell is a rookie, so I'm not really worried about him taking advantage of Moreland down low. Moreland has length on him and is a solid rebounder. I think Moreland can hold his own while also giving us some much needed rim protection while Koufos & Cauley-Stein are out of the game.
Overview
I like our chances if this is our strategy today, and the fact that we are at home should only help. Either way, it would be a very interesting experiment to see how Cauley-Stein could handle Harden. It would be very useful information going forward, and I really don't think there is much of a price to pay to find out that information considering the Rockets are going with a very small lineup. I just really hope Karl doesn't let them off the hook and match their small-ball lineup.
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Wow! Your plan sounds reasonable, however, the primary reason I gave your post a like and decided to post a comment is to recognize your passion! Anyone who expends that kind of effort on a pregame analysis with a suggested winning strategy, and posts it all in such an organized fashion deserves recognition, particularly with the trying times we have been experiencing. If this is the way it plays out and the Kings win, you deserve the game ball. Lets hope the team plays with as much passion! 
James Ham @James_Ham 47s48 seconds ago
Kosta Koufos and Marco Belinelli joining the starting lineup.
Kosta Koufos and Marco Belinelli joining the starting lineup.
One thing I forgot to mention in my post was the advantage we would have in our transition offense.
If we have Cauley-Stein guarding Harden on the perimeter (and Harden typically likes to be at the very top of the key), it gives Cauley-Stein less ground to cover to get down the floor. Our 7'0", high flying big man is going to be the first one down the floor each time. That should give us a huge target when looking to push the rock and give us the ability to get easier looks.
If the transition offense isn't there, then you have your 7'0" big man being able to easily establish position down low because he either has a smaller and weaker player (Harden) trying to check him or because his man Ariza (if that's who the Rockets want to use to guard Cauley-Stein) is further down the floor and can't beat him to the block.
If we have Cauley-Stein guarding Harden on the perimeter (and Harden typically likes to be at the very top of the key), it gives Cauley-Stein less ground to cover to get down the floor. Our 7'0", high flying big man is going to be the first one down the floor each time. That should give us a huge target when looking to push the rock and give us the ability to get easier looks.
If the transition offense isn't there, then you have your 7'0" big man being able to easily establish position down low because he either has a smaller and weaker player (Harden) trying to check him or because his man Ariza (if that's who the Rockets want to use to guard Cauley-Stein) is further down the floor and can't beat him to the block.