WCQF: P1 (4) Houston Rockets vs (5) Utah Jazz

[Saint Lazarus]

Gobert is so incredibly overrated

Goberts +/- for the series is deeper negative than Harden's is positive

Next Roy Hibbert, tbh?

Roy Hibbert fell off a cliff. I think Gobert it a good player but some people crowned him as a borderline superstar when he doesn't do much on offense and he cannot defend arguably the most important thing on defense (pick and roll + switching).

[KqWIN]

Gobert is so incredibly overrated

Goberts +/- for the series is deeper negative than Harden's is positive

Next Roy Hibbert, tbh?

Roy Hibbert fell off a cliff. I think Gobert it a good player but some people crowned him as a borderline superstar when he doesn't do much on offense and he cannot defend arguably the most important thing on defense (pick and roll + switching).

These two things were not the issue if you paid attention at all during the game.

[LeonGenesis]

Come on Jazz....I can't believe ya letting Harden Flopper beating you...

[JazzUte88]

What a boring ass series. Ugh.

[GSP]

Come on Jazz....I can't believe ya letting Harden Flopper beating you...

did u miss their series last year? Houston is the worst matchup in the league for Utah

[asas]

When do the coach and front office at Utah come under criticism for building a team around an undersized shooting guard that is a poor shooter/low BBIQ?

Mitchell shot the Jazz out of the playoffs last year with his inefficient play, and he is doing it again this year. Why does Quinn Synder still persist, and why didn't the front office try and get someone that could help Utah win either before the season started or before the deadline?

I would think they are waiting for Mitchel to take a huge leap, he needs green light to grow. Also Rubio will be gone soon, they might try to get Conley + some more signings/trades and try again again in 19/20. In other words they can make a bigger turnaround next year, maybe they know Donovan still wasn't ready for a deep run.

[Winsome Gerbil]

You just can't have Ricky Rubio leading you in scoring. You just can't.

[BallerTalk]

Utah has to be the most disappointing team so far in the playoffs. I don’t expect them to win any of the first 2 games but damn down near 30 at half? They are usuallly a gritty bunch that makes you work. These 2 teams went to 6 games last season.

It's funny how many people completely misremember that series.
I attribute it to a lot of detractors being slow to acknowledge and accept just how dominant that Rockets team was and the fact the Jazz had just come off that phenomenal series where they thumped the Thunder.

No they didn't go 6 games, it was a gentleman's sweep. The Rockets won each game by double figures with an average margin of victory of 15 points for the series.
That series was definitely more competitive than this one has been so far but it wasn't particularly close either.
It certainly wasn't the constant dogfight some seem to remember it as.

[Saint Lazarus]

Next Roy Hibbert, tbh?

Roy Hibbert fell off a cliff. I think Gobert it a good player but some people crowned him as a borderline superstar when he doesn't do much on offense and he cannot defend arguably the most important thing on defense (pick and roll + switching).

These two things were not the issue if you paid attention at all during the game.

Maybe not this game but that's what I've seen from the last 2 or 3 years whenever the Celtics play the Jazz.

[Shock Defeat]

Come on Jazz....I can't believe ya letting Harden Flopper beating you...

Harden Flopper about to beat the rest of the West too. Jazz are just the first

[nurseryc]

Mitchell looks terrible in round 1 of playoffs. Completely exposed.

[tundraknight]

The Rockets need to make sure they finish off the Jazz ASAP so they can rest and prepare mentally and physically for the Warriors in Round 2 (assuming they both advance).

It’s a blessing in disguise for the Rockets potential match up vs the Warriors sooner rather than later. Because of the aging CP3 always seems to break down fast in the post season. They need to make sure he’s fresh and healthy.

Who else is anticipating a Rockets versus Bucks Collision Course in the NBA Finals?

[Sane]

Series is not over. If Rockets had won the first 2 games by a point each, they would still be 2-0 from 2 home games. However, if the Rockets win game 3, it's going to be impossible for the Jazz to overcome that psychologically.

As for the Warriors, if CP3 was playing better I'd be more confident. He still looks significantly less capable of getting a step on his defender than he was in last season's playoffs. He outplayed Curry in those 5 games, and he doesn't look anywhere near being able to do that now. Hope I'm wrong.

[JimmyRustle]

1. James Harden is carrying this Rocket's team all on his back
2. CP3's decline is showing
3. Mitchell is inefficient as hell
4. No way in hell Gobert is winning DPOY
5. That was some shameless stat padding in the 4th bringing Harden back in up 26 with 7 minutes left

[millslapper]

Harden is unguardable.
It's amazing how much he has improved his already strong game in a year.

My tactic right now would be to defend him 1on1, no help, challenge him late at the rim, asking him to do everything on his own. let him get 70 and hope he gets tired. his endurance is limited. he still is a human.

The rockets are special when the team is in rhythm. So they must never get into rhythm.

[Senior]

There is something very special going on in Houston right now. They just have a feel about them like this is their year.

Think a HOU-GSW showdown could unfold like 87-88 BOS-DET? Or maybe closer to 90-91 DET-CHI

[KqWIN]

Roy Hibbert fell off a cliff. I think Gobert it a good player but some people crowned him as a borderline superstar when he doesn't do much on offense and he cannot defend arguably the most important thing on defense (pick and roll + switching).

These two things were not the issue if you paid attention at all during the game.

Maybe not this game but that's what I've seen from the last 2 or 3 years whenever the Celtics play the Jazz.

The Jazz have done very well against the Celtics recently...and if that's the extent of your reasoning, that explains a lot.

[No-more-rings]

There is something very special going on in Houston right now. They just have a feel about them like this is their year.

I'd probably agree if Paul's health wasn't so fragile in the postseason. Going off history there's maybe like a 40% chance he stays healthy for the conference playoffs, and a 25% chance he holds up the whole playoffs through the finals. If they get by the Warriors they'd probably beat any of Denver/OKC/SAS/POR without Paul, but i definitely wouldn't see them beating either Toronto or Milwaukee without him.

Not trying to be pessimistic, people just shouldn't get their hopes up is all and then don't be surprised when he gets hurt again.

[Lysdexic]

1. James Harden is carrying this Rocket's team all on his back
2. CP3's decline is showing
3. Mitchell is inefficient as hell
4. No way in hell Gobert is winning DPOY
5. That was some shameless stat padding in the 4th bringing Harden back in up 26 with 7 minutes left

As a Rockets fan as much as I hate to admit, the Rockets were prone to coughing up big double digit leads this past regular season. I mean the Rockets were up 14 comfortably in the 4th during the final regular season game to determine #2 seed vs OKC.

If you listened during the broadcast, CP3, Harden and D'Antoni were clamoring at their teammates to not let up once having a comfortable lead. I partially think the GSW-Clips upset not only was eye opening for the Warriors but also for the Rockets. No one is above an upset comeback to really throw a wrinkle in a series. No lead is safe in the NBA until time officially runs out.

[ken6199]

1 on 1 straight up defending Harden should be the best way. People don't realize by shading his left you save him a lot of his energy from having to beat his defender. It basically becomes an unguarded blow by.

You have to give up something. Let him spend energy to beat you, have your big man ready to meet him at the rim, send a help defender to rotate to Capela. After that, you are left with 2 defenders to cover 3 Rockets, likely 2 at the corners, the other at top of the key, and you just hope either Harden miss the open man (unlikely), or the open man miss a 3 (a bit more likely). You do still want to force Harden to his right, not only because you need to force him to pass with his right hand which is less accurate, but also make Capela start cutting in from the weak side, so that you can slide your defender on that side on Capela, and still have your other wing glued to Tucker on the right corner aka PJ Tucker's corner. You can probably give up the guy at the top of the key as well (normally Gordon), because Harden's habit is to find the two corners first, so by the time the ball swing back to the top of the key, you just have to do your best to recover from a scramble.

But stop with this non-sense gimmick defense I've said it so many times. It won't work. It's a gamble. One team got away with it doesn't mean it's a viable solution for everyone else. Snyder said it after game 1, "whatever you throw at him he will figure it out, you just have to figure out what he has figured out". Harden is playing the smartest ball in his career, and he is also backing it up with endurance which he worked so hard on this year to cope with the load and his usual playoff fatigue. The guy went straight to treadmill after game 2. Go back to conventional defending instead of getting cute, I think that is the best way to limit his impact.

For DPOY it's Gobert. It's a regular season award and the votes are already submitted, not sure why some people still have problems with it. I hate when people kneejerk with recency bias and throw a season's work completely out of the window.