Warriors Defensive Stat Dive
The Steve Kerr Warriors are known for their ability to bounce back, going until game four of the 2016 Western Conference Finals before losing two games in a row during the 2015-16 season.
They have taken that to another level since game three of last year’s series against the Houston Rockets.
In game two of the 2018 Western Conference Finals, the Rockets beat the Warriors, 127-105, to tie the series 1-1.
Reminiscent of their 65-17 regular season, Houston shot 16-42 from three, 51% from the field, had a team true shooting of .636 and had four different players – James Harden, Eric Gordon, P.J. Tucker, Chris Paul and Trevor Ariza – score over 15 as the Rockets were heading to Oakland with momentum.
Since that game, in the last seven playoff contests Golden State has stagnated the Rockets offense, shut down their three-point shooting and taken away their third and fourth options.
As we saw in the first round series against the Clippers – a blown 31-point lead and over 100 points allowed in all six games – the Warriors will slack defensively when they are too comfortable. But they have been consistently locked in against the dangerous Rockets.
In their other 17 games in the playoffs the last two years, the Rockets have averaged 109.5 points per game and have made 14.5 three-pointers per game, but they have made only 12.7 in the last seven against Golden State.
Funny enough, in the Warriors’ other 22 games they have allowed 106 ppg.
Because of their ability to switch, esp. in the Hamptons 5 lineup or when Looney comes in at center, the Warriors can closeout three-point shooters and force turnovers, creating 14.7 per game (Houston has averaged 11.17 in the other 17 games).
Draymond Green has been omnipresent in these matchups, averaging 10.86 points, 12.7 rebounds, 6.89 assists and 3.14 steals and blocks per game, including five blocks and four steals in game six last year.
Eric Gordon and P.J. Tucker – essential three-point options who punish teams when they double Harden – have been negated. Gordon has shot 19/67 from three (29.7%) and Tucker has been held to only 7.3 points per game.
Even worse, however, has been the impact on Clint Capela, who is so much of a defensive liability that his pick-and-roll threat is not worth it against any non-Looney lineup. Capela has a minus-94 plus-minus in the last seven playoff games against the Warriors. In all other playoff games the last two years, he is a plus-136.
In every facet, nook and cranny, the Warriors have grounded the Rockets’ record-breaking offense, and if they can keep their focus in the next two games in Houston they may be locking up another trip to the Conference Finals soon.