Lineup flaw shortsighted?
There are signs small ball could help rather than hurt on defensive end
As widely debated and criticized as their move to full-time small ball has been, the Rockets believe the discussion ignores the benefits they expect to find in half of the game. Even when considering their potential “short” comings, that is not unusual for them.
The idea of playing without a center was understood to spread the floor. It would open room for Russell Westbrook. It could supercharge their offense.
The assumption was that a lack of rim protection would diminish their already shaky defense.
The Rockets, however, believe it could make them better defensively. There is also a sense that it will have to.
Asked about his team’s defense after Tuesday’s 116105 win over the Boston Celtics, Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said, “better than it was before.
“Also, going small is better than it was before. We can get a lot better. We can be really good.”
It is easy to see how the Rockets can improve offensively by accentuating and optimizing strengths. But better defensively?
“Without a doubt,” D’Antoni said. “We can take everybody out of their sets. Now, we will find teams that will just put their head down and drive us. We’ll have to man up,
and we’ll have to learn how to shrink the floor and play the angles. And I think we can do that. We’ll get Eric (Gordon) back, who I think is one of our better individual defenders. But yeah, we should be better. We should be good. Whether that’s good enough, we’ll see. But we’re going to be good.”
There are questions, starting with the Rockets’ ability to stay in front of ball handlers going at them. They will be tested by teams with centers as offensive focal points. Defensive rebounding, while showing positive signs in recent games, remains a question.
There is also a confidence that being able to switch everything is disruptive. For all the doubts about the Rockets’ ability to defend in the post, teams already have bogged down and turned the ball over while trying to force perceived mismatches.
“They’re trying to get the ball into places that they think they have an advantage,” D’Antoni said. “When you start doing that, if we’re active and we have (active) hands, it makes it easier. Turnovers in the passing lanes, making them drive all the time into a defense that is swatting at balls and stuff.
“I do like the quote (Celtics coach) Brad Stevens said. He said, ‘It’s tough to post up linebackers.’ That’s what we have. There will be some guys we’ll have a hard time with. We’ll have to double, and we’ll have to adjust. That’s part of the game.”
The Rockets have never doubted their offense and expect it to be faster and better with the small lineups. The importance of improving the defense is not just theoretical.
After holding the Celtics to 105 points, largely on the strength of a 20-4 fourthquarter run to clear the benches with 2:05 left, the Rockets moved to 19-1 when keeping teams below 110 points. With the Celtics making 43.5 percent of their attempts, the Rockets are 17-3 when opponents make less than 45 percent of their shots.
Neither measure of success can be considered a trend when playing small, but the Rockets see that potential, with the belief in the style not exclusive to watching Westbrook finish drives.
“It shows what we’re capable of, especially getting stops on demand against a really good basketball team,” Westbrook said of Tuesday’s strong finish. “We did a good job of taking care of business.
“You can get in their passing lane a little bit, be aggressive, find ways to be able to sneak out. I think it’s been pretty good for us. I think it’s good for our team.”
James Harden even argued that improving the offense helps keep opponents out of transition, the weakest aspect of the Rockets’ defense. The Rockets had dramatically cut down on their turnovers before committing 14 on Tuesday.
“Once a team has to play against our half-court defense, it’s pretty tough to score consistently,” Harden said. “That’s what we want to get. We want to get quality shots offensively. And defensively, get out in transition and make teams play against us in the half court, and we’ll live with the results.”
The key for the Rockets is to keep teams from getting early looks, usually in transition, where they rank 28th with 18 to 15 seconds on the clock and 27th with 22 to 18 seconds on the clock
In the middle of possessions, with 15 to seven seconds remaining on the shot clock, the Rockets rank ninth defensively, one point per 100 possessions removed from fourth. Later in the clock, with seven to four seconds remaining, they have the league’s top-rated defense.
The all-in move to the use of small lineups has not changed results in any significant way. It has generated an expectation that the defense can be a strength, even if the attention still will be on the other end of the court.
“Winning’s hard,” D’Antoni said of how to make it work. “You have to play hard to win. If we can do that, we’re going to be really good.”