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Boxscores will never tell the whole story.

James in Toronto

Only 6 free throws attempted.
Only 11 shots attempted.
Only 23 points.
Team season low 19 free throw attempts.

Not scoring didn't seem to bother him. Didn't force anything.

--- double-teamed all game* (when he wasn't, he casually murdered them, reminding them why he was doubled in the first place)
--- reads the game perfectly
--- trusts teammates
--- teammates take advantage, move the ball, feast on corner 3s
--- bonus: with James just chilling on offense by not forcing things, he had more energy to play solid d = strong in the post vs Siakam, free safety role (5 steals), takes charges

*obviously a terrible plan. You cannot play 3x4 all game long. I was shocked that Nurse didn't adapt.

Click clips below if you will.


Unsurprisingly, you can then verify the impact of that failed defense.

Passing
Team average: 244.7
Last night: 328.0

Catch & shoot
Average : 30.0 pts/ 53.8 efg%
Last night: 62 pts / 60.8 efg%

91% of 3pointers were assisted.

23.47% of the shots were corner 3s (usually 12.65% on the season)

Remember, James is doing all of this playing along side a player who bricks wide open 3s (when he doesn't refuse to shoot them). And bonus---bennyhillthemesong

Good post.

Most gravity I have ever seen by a player.

Sent from my SM-G960U using RealGM mobile app

I thought the game was more about Toronto shooting the ball horribly and committing uncharacteristic turnovers, despite being a low-turnover team.

Also McLemore had the game of his life from beyond the arc.

Houston did move the ball very well, I will give them that.

That's why I said in game thread Rockets should be thankful that Nurse showed them how to play (unintentionally of course) if Harden would want his team to succed he should play much less selfish and include his team mates )RW excluded here for obvious reason )

Colbinii wrote:Good post.

Most gravity I have ever seen by a player.

Sent from my SM-G960U using RealGM mobile app

peak Curry, Shaq, and Dirk probably all have games meeting or exceeding this in that regard.

Not to take away from Harden's influence last night--I just reflexively push back against these types of immediate reactions--sorry.


I think I disagree with Dirk's criticism of Nurse here though. I liked the strategy. Yeah it didn't work last night, but I still think it might be the best way to defend Houston. I know Dirk remembers the Dallas game recently where Dallas started doubling him relentlessly in the 2nd half and it was the key to the victory. So it can work as well.

At first when toronto was forcing the ball out of hardens hands i considered it clever by Nurse, but he over did it. There were so many sloppy traps where the rest of the raps were out of position and it gave Hou legit wide open practice shots. You never want to give a star player or good team a steady diet of the same junk defense, this is the nba not the ACC.

Felt like the strategy worked quite well but Toronto just couldn’t get any rebounds or hit a three.

I'm kinda surprised that some of these guys cant break a double team. It seems every time any of the guys get doubled they just pass immediately. I know the Raptors have an elite defense, it's just strange to me. The best of the best can't break a double team.

Forte IV wrote:I'm kinda surprised that some of these guys cant break a double team. It seems every time any of the guys get doubled they just pass immediately. I know the Raptors have an elite defense, it's just strange to me. The best of the best can't break a double team.

When passing leads to open corner 3s, it's pretty silly to try and dribble through a double team.

I thought this was one of the best games he's played this season, and if he had these kind of performances more often (playing within the flow, efficient, not forcing bad shots, and actually trying on defense) I'd be more inclined to view him as having a strong case for MVP. But of course, this won't catch the eyes of casuals who only care about POINTS! And too often Harden falls into that same line of thinking when gunning for these scoring records and such.

Ron Swanson wrote:I thought this was one of the best games he's played this season, and if he had these kind of performances more often (playing within the flow, efficient, not forcing bad shots, and actually trying on defense) I'd be more inclined to view him as having a strong case for MVP. But of course, this won't catch the eyes of casuals who only care about POINTS! And too often Harden falls into that same line of thinking when gunning for these scoring records and such.

Is that really you Ron Swanson, come back for another season of Parks and Recreation.

Texas Chuck wrote:

Colbinii wrote:Good post.

Most gravity I have ever seen by a player.

Sent from my SM-G960U using RealGM mobile app

peak Curry, Shaq, and Dirk probably all have games meeting or exceeding this in that regard.

Not to take away from Harden's influence last night--I just reflexively push back against these types of immediate reactions--sorry.


I think I disagree with Dirk's criticism of Nurse here though. I liked the strategy. Yeah it didn't work last night, but I still think it might be the best way to defend Houston. I know Dirk remembers the Dallas game recently where Dallas started doubling him relentlessly in the 2nd half and it was the key to the victory. So it can work as well.

Nah. I have never seen a player who actively forces a 3v4.

Curry, Shaq and Dirk all had different types of gravity but none that resulted in a complete 3v4 with one pass.

With Curry it was more about ball movement resulting in eventual 3 v 4. With Shaq he was in the paint which took away the lay-up for teammates while Harden's gravity resulted in wide open corner 3's or wide open lay-ups; more efficient shots than a wing-3.

With Dirk it wasn't really a 3v4 and he wasn't as good of a passer as the others to capitalize like Curry/Shaq and especially Harden.

Sent from my SM-G960U using RealGM mobile app

this is more on nurse trying next level **** that didn't work.

The defensive scheme for the Raptors was ugly last night.

Sending a hard double team 10 feet beyond the arc on every play means your defense has to play 3 on 4 in space all night. That leaves guys wide open and also tires out your defenders because they're constantly scrambling to chase down open shooters.

I also think this is a reason why the Raps offense got sloppy and guys start missing open 3s...a result of tired legs from a defensive scheme that is extremely demanding.

Nurse needed to mix up his strategy more.

Dirk wrote:Boxscores will never tell the whole story.

James in Toronto

Only 6 free throws attempted.
Only 11 shots attempted.
Only 23 points.
Team season low 19 free throw attempts.

Not scoring didn't seem to bother him. Didn't force anything.

--- double-teamed all game* (when he wasn't, he casually murdered them, reminding them why he was doubled in the first place)
--- reads the game perfectly
--- trusts teammates
--- teammates take advantage, move the ball, feast on corner 3s
--- bonus: with James just chilling on offense by not forcing things, he had more energy to play solid d = strong in the post vs Siakam, free safety role (5 steals), takes charges

*obviously a terrible plan. You cannot play 3x4 all game long. I was shocked that Nurse didn't adapt.

Click clips below if you will.

Spoiler:

Gfycat Video - Click to Play

Gfycat Video - Click to Play

Gfycat Video - Click to Play

Gfycat Video - Click to Play

Gfycat Video - Click to Play

Gfycat Video - Click to Play

Gfycat Video - Click to Play

Gfycat Video - Click to Play

Gfycat Video - Click to Play

Gfycat Video - Click to Play

Gfycat Video - Click to Play

Gfycat Video - Click to Play

Gfycat Video - Click to Play

Gfycat Video - Click to Play

Gfycat Video - Click to Play

Gfycat Video - Click to Play

Gfycat Video - Click to Play

Unsurprisingly, you can then verify the impact of that failed defense.

Passing
Team average: 244.7
Last night: 328.0

Catch & shoot
Average : 30.0 pts/ 53.8 efg%
Last night: 62 pts / 60.8 efg%

91% of 3pointers were assisted.

23.47% of the shots were corner 3s (usually 12.65% on the season)

Remember, James is doing all of this playing along side a player who bricks wide open 3s (when he doesn't refuse to shoot them). And bonus---bennyhillthemesong

Spoiler:

Gfycat Video - Click to Play

Gfycat Video - Click to Play

Gfycat Video - Click to Play

said "brick player" had a triple double because harden gave up the ball. point being, in spite of his "bricks" said player built a solid game instead of being relegated to the 2 spot when we all know that's not how he should be utilized. said "brick" player was feeding his mates ALL KINDS of opportunities when he drove, whereas harden would have taken the shot. it was a clear demarcation of responsibilities. westy DID take 27 shots though LOL, which is way more than anything he's done this season

to wit: if the question were asked who of the two should be the pg and handle the ball, and who should be the sg and score, your answer would be "the two as we saw them in last night's game". hey look man,,,for the past 3(including this) years westbrook has been MORE THAN willing to cede scoring chores to others, so let's get over the "brick" stuff - it gets boring.

the problem is dantoni does not dictate.....he lets his players feel their way to a solution, but you have two alphas who have been alphas for 10 years

here's the thing. westbrook's inefficiencies are built into his game for him to function.@okc they did ok in spite of his inefficiencies because they built around it. @hou, there is MORE THAN ENOUGH scoring talent around westbrook that hou can take advantage of his positives and brush off his negatives.

the net effect of losing westbrook is okc is headed for a 30win season. yes they lost pg, but they gained cp3, sga, and gallinari. those three have more combined ppg than westbrook/george. you can't lay the whole minus 20wins on the loss of just pg13

MetalFingaz wrote:

Forte IV wrote:I'm kinda surprised that some of these guys cant break a double team. It seems every time any of the guys get doubled they just pass immediately. I know the Raptors have an elite defense, it's just strange to me. The best of the best can't break a double team.

When passing leads to open corner 3s, it's pretty silly to try and dribble through a double team.

I was thinking more along the lines of: break a double team, third guy rotates over, and then two guys are open for a shot.

Ron Swanson wrote:I thought this was one of the best games he's played this season, and if he had these kind of performances more often (playing within the flow, efficient, not forcing bad shots, and actually trying on defense) I'd be more inclined to view him as having a strong case for MVP. But of course, this won't catch the eyes of casuals who only care about POINTS! And too often Harden falls into that same line of thinking when gunning for these scoring records and such.

Well, if every team starts doubling him every possession, I bet he'll continue to play like this. If they don't, I bet he'll continue leading the NBA's #3 offense despite his running mate posting 40/22/75 splits.

Peregrine01 wrote:Felt like the strategy worked quite well but Toronto just couldn’t get any rebounds or hit a three.

A team averaging 120.8 was held to 119? Not really all that impactful imo.

dhsilv2 wrote:

Peregrine01 wrote:Felt like the strategy worked quite well but Toronto just couldn’t get any rebounds or hit a three.

A team averaging 120.8 was held to 119? Not really all that impactful imo.

Thought that was largely due to Toronto turning it over a lot and them bricking wide open threes, which are effectively live-ball turnovers. But in the half court set, didn’t see HOuston having much success. Russ is a liability on offense when he’s on the weak side and Raps were inviting the Rockets to pass it to him.

Forte IV wrote:I'm kinda surprised that some of these guys cant break a double team. It seems every time any of the guys get doubled they just pass immediately. I know the Raptors have an elite defense, it's just strange to me. The best of the best can't break a double team.

Sure they could break a double team? But 100% of the time? no.

The better % play is to pass out and rely on your teammates to get it done 4 vs 3.