Rockets just showed the blueprint to beat the Warriors

[Amuseddaysleeper]

Spurs have a TON of work to do with this roster. Kawhi alone isn’t going to get them past the second round. Literally half
the roster needs to be dumped. Gasol and Mills are some of the worst contracts in the entire league and the Spurs are one of the most pathetic three point shooting teams in the country.

Kawhi is just the first step, RC needs to wake up or it’s going to be another atrocious season.

[Arcadian]

Just wait for the Warriors' run to end. It has to be over soon, right? How long can you really keep 4 all-star players together?

[David Stern]

Rockets-ball is not winning ball.

Yet they were in position to eliminate the Warriors. The Spurs can knock them off next year and you know it especially with their history of ending the past 2 dynasties.

[David Stern]

I don't think Mills is tough to deal. I just don't this clown of a FO will has the stones to deal him. The Pau signing was hideous but he's 38. Ryan Anderson is 30 and Morey is the king of exploiting bad GMs into thinking his rotten coal is worth rubies and diamonds.

The Spurs will deal Mills and Gasols somewhat expiring. After they make amends with their franchise player, they need to make him happy. By making him happy, dealing those ty contracts is a way of showing dedication to the face of the franchise. Now go off yourself, got.

[blizz]

What kind of horse is this? The rockets showed how to beat GS by losing the series?? By choking away two games when hey were up by double digits at the half? By getting outscored by 39 in the second half of game 6? By getting outscored by 20 at home in game 7?? By missing 27 threes in a row?? GTFO with that .

[SpurOutofTownFan]

-No weak links on defense: Always have 5 average to above average defensive players that can switch 1 through 5 (that means no Pau Gasol, no Patty Mills, no Tony Parker, no Forbes).

-Have three pt shooters: It is what it is. You aren't beating this team without shooters. Houston won two games this series shooting under 40% just because they chucked threes. It might not be pretty but is what it has to be done. Spurs lack a lot of volume three pt shooters. You just can't have so many perimeter players that can't shoot like Tony, Murray and Anderson.

Rockets almost pulled it off (and probably do it if Paul doesn't get hurt) by basically playing just 6 guys (Gerald Green didn't play all that much before the Paul injury), and playing sub par offense. The first team that manages to duplicate Houston's defensive effort, while having a bigger rotation and an offense that creates three pts looks out of better ball movement should be able to beat a Warriors team that will have to be exhausted, next season, after 4 straight final appearances.

Should Kawhi stay here, I don't see why the Spurs can't be that team. But for that to happen, Pop and RC need to get their heads out of their asses and get done.

It's pretty much what many of us have been saying all along, just hope that the rest catches up after seeing this series. I'm still reading fans asking for more bigmen to play alongside Aldridge, LOL.

Do you mean the following blueprint:

- chucking as many 3s as you can
- if you have missed 20 3s in a row keep shooting
- dribble once twice thrice and shoot
- run 9 out of 10 iso plays
- trade a 2 for a 3 any time you can

[tholdren]

Lol idiot. Todays nba shoots 24 consec threes and misses.... lol terrible product,

Nba is awful why watch?

[pgardn]

I normally don’t agree with the OPs takes but Houston definitely had a good defensive plan and players capable of implementing the plan.

That said, we just witnessed absolutely horrid team offense. Harden takes over with people standing and watching except for the lob dunk is just debilitating recipe for others. Harden gets himself into rhythm while others stand or try to find an open passing lane on a Harden drive, ad nauseum. The Warriors just hung in and let this offense die. Gordon tried to break up the monotony with his own barrel to the basket mentality. Paul tried to fit in and did a decent job. The sad thing about the NBA is this offense almost worked. Give me a Lebron lead team any day. Or Curry. Curry is absolutely necessary for the Warriors because Durant leads them down the same dark rabbit hole.

[Brazil]

-No weak links on defense: Always have 5 average to above average defensive players

Harden starting

?

[Seventyniner]

Did the 2016 Thunder have the blueprint to beat the Warriors?

[sananspursfan21]

Warriors recipe for success: make sure somebody, anybody on the opponent’s team gets injured in the series.

[Chinook]

No offense son, but you are one of the less capacitated people to argue current ball with, tbh.

You still don't actually know what basketball is outside of "this is a modern trend", so I don't get your point.

[polandprzem]

Low pace iso ball is blueprint for Warriors and Pop had it long time ago

[kjhip1]

-No weak links on defense: Always have 5 average to above average defensive players

Harden starting

?

Was thinking the same thing. He and Gordon were constantly getting beat on back cuts and kick outs. P.J. Tucker played good D on that team, but let’s not pretend there weren’t any “weak links” on D for the starting 5.

[ElNono]

Good defense and good shooting is the blueprint to beat any team, tbh... especially when one can feed the other...

[superbigtime]

truly ugly basketball. I hate this inefficient chuck as much as possible mentality. I'm glad DAntoni lost yet again. Hoping that LeBron's undeniable greatness beats this warriors squad.

[r0drig0lac]

The Spurs have a problem. They don't have two way players. You can bring in guys like Bertans and Forbes to shoot three's and then you get destroyed on the defensive end. You bring in a guy like Anderson for defense and you're playing 4 vs 5 on offense. And then there's Danny Green who doesn't movethe needle on either side of the ball anymore. Kawhi leonard (assuming healthy) and LMA are the only two way players on the court and they clash with each other.

this x 1000

[Raven]

-No weak links on defense: Always have 5 average to above average defensive players that can switch 1 through 5 (that means no Pau Gasol, no Patty Mills, no Tony Parker, no Forbes).

-Have three pt shooters: It is what it is. You aren't beating this team without shooters. Houston won two games this series shooting under 40% just because they chucked threes. It might not be pretty but is what it has to be done. Spurs lack a lot of volume three pt shooters. You just can't have so many perimeter players that can't shoot like Tony, Murray and Anderson.

Rockets almost pulled it off (and probably do it if Paul doesn't get hurt) by basically playing just 6 guys (Gerald Green didn't play all that much before the Paul injury), and playing sub par offense. The first team that manages to duplicate Houston's defensive effort, while having a bigger rotation and an offense that creates three pts looks out of better ball movement should be able to beat a Warriors team that will have to be exhausted, next season, after 4 straight final appearances.

Should Kawhi stay here, I don't see why the Spurs can't be that team. But for that to happen, Pop and RC need to get their heads out of their asses and get done.

It's pretty much what many of us have been saying all along, just hope that the rest catches up after seeing this series. I'm still reading fans asking for more bigmen to play alongside Aldridge, LOL.

.... i mean

[Raven]

The Spurs have a problem. They don't have two way players. You can bring in guys like Bertans and Forbes to shoot three's and then you get destroyed on the defensive end. You bring in a guy like Anderson for defense and you're playing 4 vs 5 on offense. And then there's Danny Green who doesn't movethe needle on either side of the ball anymore. Kawhi leonard (assuming healthy) and LMA are the only two way players on the court and they clash with each other.

sure, but also houston has a grand total of 0 two way players

[r0drig0lac]

sure, but also houston has a grand total of 0 two way players

while you may be right, Capela does very well on both sides of the court (as CP3), and having two of the best playmakers in the league minimizes the offensive weakness of the other players

[Raven]

while you may be right, Capela does very well on both sides of the court (as CP3), and having two of the best playmakers in the league minimizes the offensive weakness of the other players

i like capela a lot, but he's clearly not a two way player. He has been intentionally hacked yesterday and really only is effective with the high pick and roll.. cp3 quit.

[Dex]

I'm as tired of the Warriors as anybody...but it was kind of satisfying watching the D'Antoni Rockets literally just chuck themselves out of the game.

You know he was over there on the sidelines like, "Just keep shooting them, they will go in, we are who we are"

Nope.

[cd98]

There are many ways they could be beat, but all extremely difficult if you can't acquire the talent to match their talent. No question that you must have 5 guys that can defend on switches and that means a big that can guard on the perimeter. You also have to be able to shoot enough threes, but not Houston threes, you can get away with less if you can score efficiently in twos and especially make Durant and Green work hard down low as undersized guys. But it's hard to have a team that can handle all the switches and be good enough shooters and still overcome the talent of Durant and Curry.

[cd98]

-No weak links on defense: Always have 5 average to above average defensive players

Harden starting

?

You're right. You can hide one guy sometimes. But even Harden played some D last night. He usually just moves out of the way, but he was poking at loose balls and trying to be active, or at least, as active as he can be.

[Proxy]

You made this post to tell us that the team needs two way players that can score at every position?