Defense brings out change in strategy
With checks on 3s, offense emphasizes forming layup lines
Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni could have stopped by the Nuggets’ locker room and sat in on their pregame meeting Saturday night, and the defensive game plan the Rockets would face would not have been clearer than when revealed moments after the opening tip.
The Rockets had seen versions of it, most recently 24
hours earlier in New Orleans. On pace to take and make more 3-pointers than any team in NBA history, the Rockets can’t be surprised when teams opt to take 3s away, even if it means sacrificing a few Clint Capela
dunks or even risk having James Harden light them up.
Saturday in Denver, the Rockets took and made fewer 3s than in any previous game this season. Though perhaps just a one-game aberration, the Nuggets’ defensive game plan allowed potential playoff opponents to see if the Rockets can win another way. D’Antoni was not concerned.
“We can just get layups,” he said after the Rockets’ 109-105 victory.
The offense is built to attack the basket if teams defend the 3-point arc and to shoot 3s if opponents pack the paint. But D’Antoni was more encouraged than worried after the Rockets hit five of 24 3s against a Denver defense that accomplished its mission.
Not at 100 percent
“We didn’t play real well, and we still put up 109 points, so we’re going to score; we put up 112 (Friday) night, and we didn’t play well at all,” D’Antoni said. “They can do that, and we’ve seen it before during the year, and that’s fine. James will just find layups and the dunks for Clint and Nene where it’s no problem.
“If you get 107, that should be enough. You’re not going to get far in the playoffs if you don’t have a spirit and a fight and getting into it defensively. You can’t always win being pretty and shooting. Really happy with our spirit and our character (Saturday). That’s more important than anything.”
Still, the Rockets are built to score. They are second to the Warriors in points per game. They are the 13th-rated team defensively. They might have to win playoff games without approaching the 115.3 points they average, but they also must find ways to score when opponents take away their first choice.
They have no doubt they can, and not just by making some of the open shots they missed Saturday.
Set up the big men
“We can score in a lot of different ways,” forward Ryan Anderson said. “We had a lot of good looks at the baskets because they were taking away our 3-point shots. That’s something we adjusted to. Our game plan was to kick out and get open 3s, but their bigs did a great job of switching and trying to contain James. That’s a tough task for them, though.
“We want to take advantage of what we can do. If they’re going to switch, we’re going to have James attack. If they give him a ton of attention, Nene and Clint did a great job of getting lobs and finishing at the basket.”
Beyond attacking the paint, where they scored 60 points Saturday with 28 from the line, the Rockets also believe they’ll adjust to get their 3s. They don’t mind Harden scoring 40, as he did Saturday, but don’t believe he’ll have to.
“We’ll create enough 3-point shot opportunities,” Anderson said. “(Saturday) was one of those fluke nights. If a team does try to eliminate our 3-point shots, if they switch or however they try to do it, we’ll figure out a way, or we’ll penetrate to the basket. Somebody has to help off of somebody, or else we’re going to get a layup.
“We do have that ability. But to be able to not score 3s and win was big for us.”
Tactic hints at playoffs
With rematches with the Nuggets and Pelicans this week before a potential playoff preview against the Thunder, the Rockets can expect more of the same. After 70 games of scoring, they do not believe they will be stopped.
“They’re not the only team that’s done that, that’s tried to run us off the line and try to make us not (shoot 3s),” guard Eric Gordon said. “James had to attack the big, and the (Rockets’) bigs finished when he made the play. We know our philosophy is to get layups or 3s. Teams are starting to be like, ‘Oh, we’ll see what they can do if they don’t make 3s.’ They can try it. It’s just going to be easier baskets.”