Back to the drawing board after Game 3 loss to the Lakers

He’s back on the Houston Rockets drawing board

Following their Game 2 loss in the Western Conference Semifinals to the Los Angeles Lakers, the Houston Rockets were surprisingly optimistic. Tied in the series at one game apiece, the Rockets believed their often-derided “microball” had baffled the Lakers; Exposing defensive weakness along the perimeter that many had been concerned about could hamper the No. 1 seed.

In telling reporters of his “skyrocketing” confidence, Houston was, in their eyes, a Russell Westbrook collapse and Markieff Morris’ heroic performance away from taking a dominant 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven matchup.

Yet another Los Angeles win in Game 3 might not be so easy to ignore.

Making a concerted effort to power Westbrook after the aforementioned disaster that was his previous outing, the Rockets came prepared to counter Los Angeles’ aggressive defense over James Harden early in the game.

While Russ previously fired a collection of ill-advised triples when he saw the Lakers’ wings fall off in an attempt to catch Harden, Westbrook got used to catching the ball on a run off the perimeter, gaining strength and heading. downhill with his trademark ferocity that often made LA’s enhanced help-defense irrelevant.

Even when he wasn’t driving to the rim, the 12-year veteran largely avoided the 3-point line in favor of mid-range shots near the elbow, an area in which he has been largely effective, ranking in the percentile. 48 of all shooters, by comparison. even the atrocious 16th is behind the line, according to Synergy Sports.

While the adjustment was largely a success for the Rockets, with Westbrook contributing 30 points on 13 of 24 shooting, his decision to present his other MVP, in a greater number of pick-and-rolls it was not.

Having mainly operated in isolation on the perimeter in the first two games, Harden split the Lakers’ defense in these sets, when fear of his step back jump led them to double at the beginning of the shot clock. With shooters evenly positioned around the court, Beard had an unobstructed view of where help was coming from, and over and over he made the simple double-team pass to a waiting shooter; who could choose the unopposed jump shot or make the extra pass to open up a driving lane in the middle of a struggling Los Angeles defense.

Against even longer defenders, sent to obstruct his view, Harden relied not only on his magnificent view of the court, but his familiarity with the Rockets’ system, sending the pass where the shooter should be and setting LeBron on fire and company with an offense that seemed completely beyond his ability to stop.

Although many expected Houston to operate with a similar dynamic in Game 3, the Rockets featured Harden in a series of pick-and-rolls and dribble-handoffs. While the guard is talented enough to make the numbers look positive no matter what the setup is, placing Harden close to another teammate and defender gave the Lakers a chance to disguise where the help was coming from and allowed Los Angeles caught and forced a rotation, or gave them the necessary half second for the other 3 defenders to rotate with their help-defense that was one step behind previously.

While most teams counterattack with a high pick-and-roll near the middle of the court, to stretch the defense and bring Harden down, a move we often see with Damian Lillard to great effect, the Rockets at they often shorted their feet. -Anthony Davis ‘speed and the Lakers’ ability to protect the paint, even against faster opponents.

Oddly enough, Mike D’Antoni’s decision to walk away from Harden’s isolation game may have actually been an attempt to regain the initiative. Playing against an opponent desperate to find a way to slow down his leading scorer, D’Antoni witnessed the Lakers throwing the kitchen sink at Harden early and often. Playing at times with four different defenders on top of him, LA also employed a box and 1, a zone, a trap and a full court press in the first quarter alone.

Against an ever-changing defense, it’s very possible that the MDA hoped to dictate the action, forcing Los Angeles to deal with a look they had yet to come across on the series.

While the motives behind the Rockets ‘move may remain unclear, what is clear is that the Lakers’ success was due to a coaching staff willing to change and experiment. In the immediate aftermath of the Milwaukee Bucks’ elimination, following their refusal to adjust at all, Frank Vogel’s ability to change schemes and rotations, while still generating buy-in from his players, should be commended.

Armed with a roster as heavy as any in the league, the Los Angeles floor remains relatively stable given the guaranteed production of James and Davis, but it has a fluctuating ceiling with a supporting cast that relies heavily on Vogel. place in optimal positions.

The fact that he’s been successful so far may make the Rockets feel a little less confident.