May 3, 2025 • 35 mins
The nerds react to Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green and the Golden State Warriors attempting to close out Amen Thompson, Alperen Sengun, Jalen Green and the Houston Rockets in Game 6 of their first round series.
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
The volume.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
No, oh my god, how could he do that?
Speaker 3 (00:14):
No, don't watch.
Speaker 4 (00:18):
What Charles Darwin.
Speaker 3 (00:20):
The nerves is where it's at. Welcome everybody back into
Nerd Sesh as always, I'm Carson Brebern. Alongside me is
Logan Camden, and you already know the drill. We've only
got one basketball game to talk about tonight, but it
was a high stakes one, Logan, and the Houston Rockets
were able to deliver a convincing win over the Warriors
(00:42):
to erase a three to one deficit that they were
facing and now send this series to a game seven.
So we're gonna have two game sevens this weekend out West,
which is very appropriate considering how many great matchups we
had for the first round in this conference. How has
Houston been able to turn this series around so dramatically, Logan?
(01:02):
And how did they get it done tonight?
Speaker 2 (01:04):
Well, a few things.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
I think the Warriors have also really struggled in a
few areas and the Rockets and beat them out there.
Speaker 3 (01:13):
One.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
The Rockets dominance on the glass I think has completely
changed this series.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
Like sin Goudin and.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
Adams grab every rebound and I think a really big
reason the Warriors lost this game was their inability to
end possessions, manufacturing extra open looks and just extra opportunities
in general. I think another big reason the Rockets got
this one was Fred van Vliet and his pull up shooting.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
Van Vleet has looked way better.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
I will say early in this game, I didn't understand
why the Warriors were doubling him outright so much, like
I just think you're you're just manufacturing easy offense for
Houston in general.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
But Van Vleet got a.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
Lot of pull up looks that he likes, like they
were good shots for him, you know, when he's forced
to create and like isolation and shoot off the dribble
like he can do it, but he'll struggle if you're
letting him walk into open threes all game long, like
those are his bread and butter looks. And I thought
he was good in this one. I thought Sengoon was
good enough. But to me, the really big difference in
(02:12):
this one was the Warriors' inability to end possessions.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
Why Steve Kerr won't play Kevon looneymore like I think
he would be a real difference maker. I didn't think
Quinton Post was really effective in this game at all. No.
I get his like theoretical ability to space the floor,
and maybe guys have to respect him a little bit
more on that end, But I just think Looney would
have been an actual, legitimate difference maker and a guy
(02:36):
that you want in this rock fight type of game.
And the offense went stone cold in the fourth quarter.
To that, I lay at the feet of mostly Jimmy
Butler and you know, Steph just lost it a little
bit there at the end. But those guys have got
to get going. Those are the guys you trust to
create offense for you. Also, I don't know how you feel, man,
Draymond is killing me bro Like late in this game throughout.
(02:58):
Just take the open three. You guys down by so
much at this point and they're just gonna give you
the look. Just shoot it, bro Like, just stop waisting clock.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
Sometimes.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
I just want him to take the open look, man.
But the Warriors offense stalled out in the fourth quarter.
The Rockets got it going and the Warriors just can't
grab a board.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
Man.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
They need to play Loony And I don't understand why
he wasn't implemented more in this game.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
But credit to the Rockets too.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
They played well and they they battle on the glass,
and Van Vliet and Sengoon had had good offensive games.
Speaker 3 (03:28):
Today this series has totally swung on its head like
it's done a oneint eighty and there are two major
reasons for that, and they're both excellent adjustments that emo
Udoka has made. The first one is going to the
double big lineup for a majority of their minutes. We
saw this was a dominant look in the regular season
the Rockets only in one hundred and fifty minutes, but
(03:50):
when they had Shan Gun and Adams out there together
had a plus thirty three net rating, Like you can't
even conceive of how massive that number is. We saw
from Game one of this series how dominant and impactful
Steven Adams was on both ends of the floor in
this series, as an offensive rebounder of course, but then
also just taking away the rim as an interior defender
(04:11):
for the Warriors. So they've been at their best throughout
this entire series with him on the floor, and now
they're just fully leaning into it and coming into this game,
they had a plus thirty net rating in the double
big minutes in this series, so now they're just putting
Steven Adams out there for thirty plus minutes a night,
and the Warriors do not have an answer for that.
They are badly exploiting their lack of size, and you
(04:34):
mentioned I mean they're grabbing so many offensive rebounds. They
tried to hack in Adams strategy in this game again,
and not only was Steven Adams making his free throws
when he didn't, Shngun was cleaning everything up on the
offensive last. So I think the Rockets end up generating
thirteen points on eight possessions when the Warriors tried the
hack in Adams strategy, So that is obviously not working.
(04:58):
And then the other major regi that they've made that
has been so so effective has been going to the
zone defense more, which Adams is also an important part
of holding things down in the middle. By the way,
he's got a plus fifty three plus minus in this game.
This is an even series, and he is giving you
better than a plus.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
Sorry, bro, what yeah in this game?
Speaker 1 (05:18):
No?
Speaker 2 (05:18):
No, No, in this series, Oh, in this series plus
fifty three.
Speaker 3 (05:23):
Every single game he's been positive.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
Hey, I said this to my friends watching the game.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
Do you think he could be to considered the best
or the most impactful player for them in this series.
Speaker 3 (05:34):
Dude, there are multiple guys who are really close. I
would say that it's been Shngoon just being like the
most consistent half court offensive presence for them, and he's
also been super impactful on the glass. Steve and Adams
has been the second most consistently impactful guy for them
at a high level, because Van Vliet was really struggling early,
but he's come on in a huge way. A man
(05:55):
has looked more and more comfortable as the series has
gone along. But I would say that the two bigs
have been the two most consistently highly impactful players in
this series, and that Rocket Zone is just given the
Warriors nightmares. Coming into this game. The Warriors had averaged
zero point seventy to three points per possession against the
zone in this series. That is a horrifically bad number,
(06:17):
and the Warriors were one of the worst offenses against
zone this entire year. They are just doing such a
great job. The Rockets are of exploiting the major red
flags we would have had looking at the Warriors coming in.
Number one being their size. They're doing that with the
double big look. The other would be the entirety of
this supporting cast in terms of like they're surrounding offensive
(06:39):
talent once you get bass, Steph and Jimmy, Do you
trust anybody else on this Warriors team to be a
consistent productive offensive player? The answer is no. And how
many dudes on the Warriors offense look comfortable against this.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
Sun and they just don't want to shoot these zeroes
oh bruh, Like sometimes the looks are gonna be wide open,
like sometimes you just got to take the rhythm, catch
and shoot three, and they just don't even look comfortable doing.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
That, man, Like.
Speaker 1 (07:07):
I'm gonna I don't like like Aaron out like Steve
Kirk because I really like Steve Kerr, but I think
he's done a really poor job of balancing the minutes.
Sometimes I think Healed needs to be out there, man.
Sometimes I think Pods needs to be out there, like
I think Looney needed to play. I like Quinton Post
and sometimes he has really good games, but I think
(07:28):
it's like a feel a feel thing with him. And
I thought tonight was a really bad post game.
Speaker 2 (07:34):
He didn't look ready at all.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
He looks scared, he didn't want to touch the rock,
he didn't want to shoot like and I feel like,
as a coach, at your responsibility to kind of keep
the temperature on that and feel like, all right, where
are we getting beat?
Speaker 2 (07:47):
Who's playing well?
Speaker 1 (07:48):
And I just thought he wasn't playing well and they
were getting crushed on the boards, and so yeah, man,
I just I want to see some different looks and
I don't think he's doing a good job with that.
Sometimes you need healed, sometimes you need pods, but moreover,
I need to see way more looney. Man. I think
loony these last two games. I thought he should have
played more.
Speaker 3 (08:07):
I'd be playing Buddy Moore because he is literally the
only reliably very good shooter on this team outside of Steph.
And when I say that nobody looks comfortable against the zone,
I mean nobody. I'm not excluding the stars from that
fort Steph. It's not really fair because he's seeing two
bodies every single time. So like everybody else has to
be able to pick up the slack. And if you
cannot make or even take open shots against his zone,
(08:29):
if you cannot take and make open shots when Steph
is getting blimped, you're just not gonna win the series. Man.
Like Jimmy Butler's a big culprit eva Ki fucking three
off the catch, which is insane, but he literally can't
and like, I don't know that it's not like whatever
one for six from deep.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
Dre's frustrating sometimes like eighteen feet standing out in the
corner like not even getting deed up, like that's I know,
it's not the most efficient like shot, but it's a
wide open mid range jumper. There's a lot of instances
where there's wide open threes he could be and where
it's just like, all right, dude, if they're gonna can
see that look to you, you know.
Speaker 3 (09:04):
I definitely don't ever want Draymond taking a mid range
jumper if the three is there wide open. It's kind
of a feel thing like he took a couple in
the first quarter, but it's low efficiency offense, Like a
Draymond wide open three is still low efficiency. Jimmy Butler
wide open three is still low efficiency. And these other
guys did they.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
I did think Jimmy did a good job of like
getting downhill and drawing fouls and stuff like that.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
And don't get me wrong, nobody played well late.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
Like the Warriors offense stalled out completely in the fourth
quarter like that to me was the the big difference.
Speaker 3 (09:34):
But what I'm saying though, is you are able to
deploy this zone because nobody around Steph is consistently comfortable
making outside and those are the shots that they're gonna
be most readily.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
Available because they're gonna hesitate if it's not completely wide open.
They're either gonna bring the ball back down an attack
or they're just gonna pass it back, and then you've
lost your advantage.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
Like, I completely agree.
Speaker 3 (09:56):
And some of those dudes don't even know what attacking
a closeout looks like quintin Post isn't capable of that.
That's not in his game pods. I love the guy.
He is one of the most uncomfortable and worst finishers
in the paint I've ever seen in my life. So
like all of these role players who are really pretty
one dimensional offensively are getting exposed. And even like a
(10:17):
Jimmy Butler, right, the guys who they want taking outside shots,
they will let take those outside shots. The guys who
they want to run off the line and dare to
do anything else, they will run off the line and
dare to do anything else. And that's just where I
think the Warriors' limitations are getting badly exposed in the
second half of the series, and even if they make
it out of this alive, I think that they're probably
gonna get destroyed by the Timberwolves. I just think the size,
(10:41):
the kind of fake depth where it's like, Okay, yeah,
they can play any number of guys, but they literally
have nobody who they can trust reliably right after night.
Outside of the top three the Warriors, I'm saying, you
know that you're gonna get forty plus minutes from Steph, Jimmy,
and Dre. Outside of that, it's a roulette wheel of
who you're even going to play every night, who you're
even gonna start every night, Like nobody is reliably polished, good, offensively, comfortable, offensively.
(11:09):
So I think that those have been two killer adjustments
by em and they have absolutely changed this series. And
I also thought the Warriors energy was not great in
this game, just like it wasn't last game. And the
Rockets are a team that is always going to bring.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
I felt like some guys brought it, like I felt
like POD's was crashing. But there are little instances in
this game where I'm telling you, I just feel like
if Looney was out there. He could have mucked it
up a little more and maybe they get a few boards.
Like you're talking about polish. Looney's one of those guys,
like he's just right, no solid.
Speaker 3 (11:41):
I have advocated for Looney minutes to match Adams on
the glass as well. It was playing him against the
zone makes your offense even more.
Speaker 1 (11:52):
It was just really bad tonight on the glass. I
get that, it was horrendous. I mean, the Warriors couldn't
any possession to save their life. Man.
Speaker 3 (12:00):
My thing is, they also couldn't end a possession to
save their life in game one, Like they've been getting
killed on the glass and this year, especially when Adams
was on the fourth game, their offense has to be better.
Their offense has to improve. Like I understand what you're saying.
It would be nice if they could be more competitive
on the glass, but they have to be able to
figure out this zone above everything else.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
But they just.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
Crumbled in the fourth It was it was embarrassing.
Speaker 3 (12:25):
Crumbled, and they crumbled last game against it too. And
Steph does have to be better. He's forcing up some
really difficult shots, but there's just not a lot of
opportunities for him to get free and get decent looks.
I thought he was doing a nice little bit of
fallibating getting himself to the line, but it's on everybody else.
Speaker 1 (12:43):
I even thought there were because he got to the
line of fair bid in this game. I even thought
there were times though, where there were even ones that
I thought should have been called, you know, more times
he should have been sent to the line. Like the
Rockets are playing really really rough with him. Man, They're
making life hell on him.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
Like and and again.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
That's part of the point though, that we're making with
this Warrior's team as a whole, is it's like they
can not send so much attention to Steph, and the
Warriors around Steph aren't doing a good enough job of
capitalizing off of it.
Speaker 3 (13:11):
Absolutely, And that's where I want to be clear. Steph
has to be better. He has to do the sort
of special shit that he was capable of doing in
game one, that he was capable of doing in game three,
because this Warriors offense just isn't very good unless he
is doing that stuff. At the same time, if dudes
around him cannot take and make wide open shots and
cannot do anything off the bounce, if they're getting closed
(13:33):
out hard against. Then this Warriors offense just isn't going
to be functional. So that's why I would prioritize offensive personnel.
I would play Moody a good bit because he has
found his shot in these last couple of games. I
would play Buddy Held, even though he didn't make a
shot in this game. I'd play a lot of Pods,
even though sometimes he is so frustrating with his lack
of confidence, in his discomfort inside the arc. I think
(13:54):
you need him for a lot of the effort stuff,
and he does have really good feel and he draws, Yeah,
it's cut and you can't finish.
Speaker 2 (14:05):
I believe in pods.
Speaker 3 (14:07):
I love pods, but if he sets a foot inside
the three point line, he is not a threat to
score the basketball. He's shooting worse on twos than on threes.
In this series, He's shooting like thirty eight percent on
two pointers. It's just he's limited. Everybody on this team
is limited outside of Steph Curry, and that's going to
get exposed over a seven game series against a team
(14:28):
that has bigger athletes, that has more depth, it has
more versatility, and that has a really good coach. I
do want to shout out Fred van Vliet because he
has been another dude who has turned this series on
a dime. Like I was talking about early in the series,
how I just said, he's pretty easy to guard at
this point because he's so so reliant on the jumper.
(14:50):
He really isn't going to threaten you getting by you
off the bounce. But he wasn't a super efficient jump
shooter this year. I think he averaged under a point
per jump shot these last three games, though he has
been absolutely on fire. And you mentioned if they do
try to trap him like he's going to make the reads.
Fred van Vliet is gonna consistently beat you as a
decision maker and as a passer if you give him
(15:12):
opportunities to. And what so brutal is like so many
sequences where there was a broken play, if it was
an offensive rebound, this happened multiple times, if it was
when Jimmy tried to save that ball in the fourth quarter.
Like the dude who they are getting disconnected from, who
they are losing, is Fred van Vliet, which is tough
because he's the best shooter on the team right now
(15:33):
by so far.
Speaker 1 (15:34):
Also too, it's like sometimes you know they didn't come
up with the ball. But also sometimes guys were leaking out,
getting you know, trying to get out on the break
and transition prematurely, and they just got beat because of that.
Speaker 3 (15:45):
Like the one off the inbound was embarrassing, just straight
out of a timeout, but it wasn't anything drawn up.
They literally just were not guarding Fred van Vliet on
the wing and he got an open three and it
was an and one.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
And those are that's that's the one guy you can't
let spray open looks and more importantly literally just off
like pull up in transition. Those are the looks that
van Vliet is ready for, and he got way too
many easy looks for me too.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
Not to just keep dogging on the Doves.
Speaker 1 (16:15):
But like I also thought they were sloppy a little
bit in the first half, like they had to battle
back at the end of the second quarter to make
it close. Like the Rockets convincingly like played better I
thought in the first half.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
Sloppy, not taking care of the ball.
Speaker 1 (16:28):
And again I gotta just give a ton of props
to the Houston defense, and they're collective, like in general,
you know, Tarry Easton, Jabari Smith, Junior, Adams, I even thought,
you know, Jalen Green has his some moments in this game.
Speaker 2 (16:41):
He didn't have a great game by anything.
Speaker 3 (16:43):
It was funny to me when Reggie Miller said that's
how you have an impact elite defense, and you watch
the blitz and it's fully Steven Adams making the play.
Like when Jalen Green got the leak out dunk after that,
that kind of made me laugh.
Speaker 1 (16:56):
But I mean, he's got a block in this game.
That was nice to see from Jalen Green. But so
I want to give credit to the Rockets defense too
when I'm saying that. But the Warriors have been sloppy
at moments in this game, and it's just like, it's
not gonna kill you, but those things accumulate over the
entirety of the game and they come back to haunt you.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
Man, when you're wasting possessions like that and just being
sloppy with the ball. And we've seen it too many
times with the Warriors in this series.
Speaker 3 (17:20):
They are already going to lose the possession game on
the glass every single game. They cannot also lose it
convincingly in the turnover battle, which they did in this one.
They had seventeen turnovers and by the way, Steph is
very culpable in that because he had a couple of
bad turnovers when he was getting blitzed in the first
half of this game. Like, he's got to be better,
for sure, But when they're losing the possession game on
(17:43):
the glass, and they're losing the possession game in terms
of the turnover battle, and then they're also struggling this
much to make shots or create good shots against the zone,
Like it doesn't feel like this was an eight point game, man,
Like they kept hanging in there, but they were down
the entire time, and the Rockets have really figured some
major stuff out. The one more adjustment that I might
(18:08):
be inclined to make if I'm e meo O Doka
is to go away from Jalen Green even more. I
just think he's been really bad offensively in four of
six games this series. I guess I'll like give him
kind of half bad in uh game five because they
didn't really need much from him. But like, outside of
(18:29):
his one explosion, it's been a lot of really tough
sledding from him as a jump shooter, as a decision
maker when he's getting blitzed, looks totally uncomfortable not playing
at his own pace. He's sped up, like he's really
really struggling out there. And then other dudes have just
been great, Like, I don't know why he wouldn't start
Steven Adams for Game seven because that's so clearly their
(18:49):
best lineup and they're playing him starter minutes now. But
I just get out there with my best five. Jabari
Smith has been so impressive every time he has set
foot on the four in this series. His size defensively
has been impactful, but his shot making has been the
most consistently good of any Rocket. And then Tari's also
been really impactful man. I mean he flies around him
(19:10):
makes crazy plays on the defensive end. He had a
couple of reckless closeouts in this one. I think he
fouled both Jimmy and Steph on jump shots, but as
an athlete, like he's getting to the rim, he knocks
down a couple threes in this game. I just think
that big wing archetype, those two way guys have been
really impactful in this series, and you just continue to
(19:31):
stack more and more of that size and athletic advantage
on top of the Warriors and overwhelm them. Now if
Van Vliet is struggling in Game seven, that's where I
would turn to Jalen Green Moore, because like, you have
to have somebody from the perimeter who can create shots
off the bounce. But at the end of the day,
they're dominating the series with their size, with their athleticism,
with their rebounding, with their defense, and when guys like
(19:53):
Jabari Smith are also making their outside shots, I don't
know what else you want, Like, I just play that
guy a lot. I think that their best five players
pretty clearly in this series have been Shengoon, Adams, Van Vliet,
a Man, and Jabari Smith, and I think that that's
probably what I would just go with as my main
five in game seven.
Speaker 1 (20:11):
I mean, he wouldn't be in my top six because
I'd have Tory Easton probably getting burned before him.
Speaker 3 (20:18):
Before Jalen Green.
Speaker 1 (20:19):
I don't think you need him. I don't, And he's
just been bad, Like I feel like he's not really
that locked in defensively ague and he has his moments,
but it's like if I'm gonna play a guy for
defense and I don't care compare.
Speaker 3 (20:31):
To the alternatives. It's just like the Rockets have sick
defenders elsewhere.
Speaker 1 (20:34):
Exactly, man, And I just think that other guys have
been a bigger positive. And there's always that, I guess
possibility that Jalen Green is gonna have a big game,
but I just don't there is I just don't trust
him in his minutes as much consistently as other guys.
Speaker 4 (20:51):
Man.
Speaker 1 (20:51):
And if Van Vliet's gonna be shooting like this, you
really don't need him out there, like you're getting what
you need from from him, and I think other guys
are just better.
Speaker 2 (21:01):
I'm I'm disappointed with Jayalen Green man, like I've never
been the highest, but I root for the guy I want.
I would like to see.
Speaker 3 (21:08):
You tried to talk me into all start Jalen Green
potential after game two.
Speaker 2 (21:11):
I'd like to see it, bro. It would be nice,
Like I'd like to see him make a.
Speaker 3 (21:15):
I had to break reality. Leave.
Speaker 1 (21:17):
Dude.
Speaker 2 (21:19):
You know you root for the guy, man, you want
to see him get better.
Speaker 3 (21:23):
It does kind of astound me how much of a
talking point it is on the broadcast, like every single game,
like a Jalen Green struggling, Like they're basically unfair to
him because they treat him like he's a star. And
he's not. And I guess because he's got the aura
and he's got me stop commercial and he was.
Speaker 2 (21:42):
The sec lead core like this season.
Speaker 3 (21:45):
Well, I think that's a big part of it too.
I think people literally just look at points per game
and they think, oh, that guy's got to be their
best player. But like Shangoon a man, these guys have
been more impactful for this entire season.
Speaker 1 (21:55):
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma City. Sorry, if I was Houston, I'm
might this offseason, depending on how things go. I might
treat Jayalen Green kind of like Josh Giddy like that
Oklahoma Oklahoma City did, And I might, I don't know,
man shop him for. I wouldn't give him up like
for something as little as like Caruso, but I would
shop him around and see if there's a team women
(22:17):
to give me a big dog, you know.
Speaker 3 (22:19):
For I don't know why I were down playing Alex Caruso,
absolute monster I would shoot for. I think it's very
likely that he is involved in a Devin Booker deal.
I don't think the least very high that's.
Speaker 2 (22:31):
The ideal, or if it was a KD deal or.
Speaker 3 (22:34):
Yeah, but first round picks like I don't think Jalen
Green is viewed as a very good asset by any
team in the AR.
Speaker 1 (22:41):
That's what I'm saying. I'm just saying I wouldn't be
married to him. I wouldn't be attached to him, and
like saying, oh, he's a part of our young core
in the I got a man, you know, and I
feel like a man has already got one of my
guard spots. Man Vleet's good enough right now to give
us minutes. There's other guys that I want to get.
I'm just saying I wouldn't feel like a need to
hold on to him if there's a big deal, you know,
(23:03):
I wouldn't feel like he's a movable if there's a
big deal on the.
Speaker 3 (23:06):
Table, he's like the furthest thing from immovable man. I'd
absolutely be willing to put him on the table in
any deal. I think that with the contract extension that's
about to kick in, like, he's not an asset that
I would want to be attached to. He's just got
so many flaws as a decision maker, so inconsistent as
a jump shooter, so inconsistent in terms of his ability
to actually get to and finish at the rim, which
(23:28):
I know is surprising because of like the raw athleticism
he possessed in terms of quickness, but it is a
consistent trend throughout four years of his career and none
of these things have gotten significantly better. So I've been
very consistent with Jalen Green. I've been out on him
as somebody like with real star potential for a while,
and I think that absolutely they should always be willing
to move off of him like in any given game,
(23:50):
because they just have a lot of good depth and
that's one of their advantages, like I said, and like
you said, he's got the potential to have a big game.
And if Van Vliet is off okay, then I see
you potentially turning to Jail Green wore. But when he's
struggling like this offensively, I just think there are dudes
who have more consistent Joey impacts. We have a question
from Liam, who makes a generous donation to the Nerd
Sedge Foundation. Thank you, Liam. Feels obvious, but if the
(24:11):
Warriors blow this, how much heat is Kerr getting for
the early benching in Game five?
Speaker 1 (24:16):
I thought about that too, Thank you Liam for the donation.
I was thinking about that too, because late in this game,
it's a thirteen point game with like I don't know,
I think like three or four minutes left, and I
was like, I Dann, we were in the exact same situation,
but we didn't put.
Speaker 2 (24:31):
The starters back in. I'd be.
Speaker 1 (24:36):
I'm just frustrated occur in general, man, not just that,
but again, the minutes in this game.
Speaker 2 (24:43):
It's tough because it's really hard. He's gonna this is
this is what I'm will say.
Speaker 1 (24:47):
Like the way that Reddick is getting like a lot
of flak for how he managed the Lakers, It's just tough. Man.
I feel like the Warriors are kind of at a
personnel disadvantage just with their lack of like actual down
and they compromised that. They made that decision when they
made the Jimmy Butler trade. It was the right decision,
but you gave up a lot of the guys that
(25:08):
you could turn to as supplemental pieces for impact in
a playoff game. And yeah, that's how I feel with
The Rockets don't have that problem. They've got their identity,
they've figured out what they can do to exploit the
Warriors issues, and they're playing that. They've got a lot
of guys they can turn to that are more reliable,
and the Warriors don't have that luxury. Like it's tough,
(25:28):
so like, I don't think Kurs managed it in the
best way, But I don't think there's an easy answer,
and so I think he's probably gonna get a little
too much blame for what's going on when I think
a lot of the blame should be on the players too,
Like again the offense stalling out, but them not getting
not being able to get no rebound. I think that
I put more of that on cur Like I do
(25:49):
want to see more Looney in Game seven. Man, he
hasn't played enough in this series.
Speaker 3 (25:52):
What do you do with Kevon Looney offensively against this.
Speaker 2 (25:55):
Care bru It's a nasty series.
Speaker 3 (25:56):
You don't care. You have to be able to score
the basketball.
Speaker 2 (26:00):
Our offense is ultimately the If I'm the Warriors, the
offense is ultimately gonna evolve into Steph shooting contested crazy
three is We're gonna hope he hits.
Speaker 1 (26:09):
Jimmy's gonna get into the lane and try to draw
some fouls. Like, I don't really think the offense changes
that much. I just think you need somebody who can
bang down low, and I trust Looney to do that.
Speaker 3 (26:20):
Of all the games, this was definitely not the ugliest
on the glass for the Warriors. In fact, somehow they
end up plus two on the offensive glass. That's a
fake number, like because there are certain times where Steven
is getting fouled on an offensive rebound. Like, yeah, they
are absolutely getting dominated on the glass. But I don't
know how much Looney can help them there. I do
(26:41):
think he helps. I also think he really hurts them offensively,
which I think they need to badly get figured out.
And like I think Steve Kerr has by far the
hardest job of any coach in this playoff field because
he has three good basketball players who he knows he
can trust on a night to night basis, and everybody
else he's got a guess and feel it out and
like some of the dudes who I've advocated for playing
(27:03):
right are wildly unreliable. And Quentin Post has had some
great games in the series, and he's had some horrible
games in the series, but he heal has had some
great games in the series. He's had some horrible games
in the series. The one guy who I do think
he should play more is Moses Moody, who I am
a believer in, But it's so game to game with
all of these guys. They're all so flawed and limited
(27:24):
in their own ways. Like, yeah, it's his job to
get it right, but it's way way harder than what
any other coach is having to do in terms of rotations,
in terms of the game five benching, I don't really
put that on curR. I would say that was just
a collective Warriors mentality thing. I thought they came into
that game way too willing to just sort of let
it slide. And the Rockets also had like a great
(27:46):
shooting performance, they had their best offensive performance in a
long time, and things just were not going right for
the Warriors. Like that had all of the ingredients for
a blowout, but I didn't think anybody brought the necessary intensity,
And at the time he pulled them, it was like
all right down whatever, twenty five with six minutes to
go in the third. They weren't going to come back
with how they were playing in that game. So I
(28:06):
wouldn't put too much heat on him for that, But
the Warriors are definitely going to look back at that
one and maybe they couldn't have won it. Even if
they played really hard, right, just because the Rockets had
a great offensive game, But that could be very, very
costly because now you're looking at a game seven. This
is spoilt from Discord. Thank you, spoiled for your generous donation,
says has Draymond permanently ruined his career perception because of
(28:29):
how immature he regularly is.
Speaker 1 (28:33):
I think I can only speak for me, but like, personally, no,
Like I'm always gonna appreciate Draymond as a basketball genius
and one of the greatest defensive players of all time.
So I mean, for me, he's immortalized, but I don't know,
maybe in the public perception he is. I can't really
speak on nev. For me, no, nothing could ever I
appreciate Draymond's basketball genius.
Speaker 3 (28:54):
I think the Draymond has always been and will always
be one of the most unfavorably viewed great players in
the public eye. Part of that is absolutely because of
the stuff that he does on the court. Right, He's
always involved in hyjenks. He is extremely physical, He's good
for a flagrant foul every other game and attack every
(29:15):
other game, and like that stuff absolutely gets on people's nerves. Also,
his skill set is just inherently going to be underappreciated
because it's so ugly offensively, and basketball fans just absolutely
love sweet sexy buckets and Draymond is going to give
you none of that, But he is going to give
you a plus value in so many other ways. One
of one defensive versatility in NBA history, such unique playmaking
(29:37):
value that is going to lead him to have an
impact that is always underappreciated. And all of this other
stuff that he's doing is just going to continue to
hurt his image more and more. But I don't know
if this series is changing anything. Man, I think the
public perception and opinion on Draymond is set in stone.
I think it's kind of been set in stone since
the twenty sixteen finals, and then everything's said then has
(30:00):
maybe just been an escalation. Obviously last year got out
of control for a bit.
Speaker 2 (30:04):
Everybody forgot about Game seven.
Speaker 1 (30:06):
Man.
Speaker 3 (30:07):
Yeah, Dreamon's always gonna be underappreciated. But if you cannot
stand his on court persona, I totally get that. I mean,
like he is an irritant to the max, He is
a complainer to the max, and comes with the territory.
He's a great player, but he's definitely always had that
stuff going on. The NBA eighty two game grind is done,
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Speaker 3 (32:52):
Anything else you want to say before we wrap this
one up, Logan.
Speaker 2 (32:55):
Warriors need to tighten up.
Speaker 3 (32:56):
Man.
Speaker 1 (32:57):
I think this is said way more to me about
the Warriors than it has about the Rockets. And I
don't want to take anything away from the Rockets because
they have had a tremendous season, but the way the
Warriors have lost these last two games has been really,
really ugly, and like I said, I think it says
more about the Doves, and it does.
Speaker 3 (33:14):
Houston Rockets have more buttons to push flat out, they
have more good basketball players, they have more lineup versatility.
Not trying to beat a dead horse, but that's been
the theme of the playoffs, and it seemed like this
was maybe the one series that would cut through and
defy that, just because Steph was going to be so
great and the Rockets were going to have the fatal
flaw with their half court offense. But in these last
couple of games, those have been the exact things where
(33:36):
the Rockets have a major advantage, and that has made
all the difference. If you had to pick who's winning Game.
Speaker 2 (33:40):
Seven, I still take the Doves.
Speaker 3 (33:46):
I'm gonna also place an irrational confidence in Steph Curry
bet and say that he's able to reach a ridiculous
level but way better for the last two games.
Speaker 2 (33:58):
I agree. I'm betting on Stephan Jimmy.
Speaker 3 (34:01):
That was my thought coming into this series. But basketball
has played five on five and the Rockets have really
really found some major advantages that they have in this
series that if they had fully figured out earlier, this
thing might already be over. Man Like if they were
just playing Steven Adams thirty plus minutes from the jump
(34:21):
in this series, if they had gone to the zone earlier,
those things have given the Warriors major, major problems. That's
gonna wrap it ups for here tonight. Guys, hope you
enjoyed this one. If you did, the good news is
there is plenty more nerd ssh content. I found one
more number Warriors against the zone tonight point eight two
points per possession. That's terrible, Like, that's just terrible. Again.
(34:43):
Last game they were point six to one points per
possession against the zone and they faced thirty four possessions
of zone tonight. You're not gonna win playoff games doing that.
You have to make shots, you have to make better decisions,
you have to be more comfortable against the zone and
that's on everybody. Anyways, as I was saying, you can
find all of our postgame live streams here on our
(35:03):
YouTube channel. You can also see all of our video
essay and video breakdown content that we do. You can
listen to the pod across all audio platforms, and you
can check us out on social tik talk and Instagram
at nerd sessh, Twitter at nerd Underscore Sesh to see
clicks from the show, graphics from the show, and all
of our short form trivia content. And with that, appreciate
you guys. As always, I've been Carson Braber, I have
(35:25):
been looking Camden and this was nerd Sash
The volume.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
No, oh my god, how could he do that?
Speaker 3 (00:14):
No, don't watch.
Speaker 4 (00:18):
What Charles Darwin.
Speaker 3 (00:20):
The nerves is where it's at. Welcome everybody back into
Nerd Sesh as always, I'm Carson Brebern. Alongside me is
Logan Camden, and you already know the drill. We've only
got one basketball game to talk about tonight, but it
was a high stakes one, Logan, and the Houston Rockets
were able to deliver a convincing win over the Warriors
(00:42):
to erase a three to one deficit that they were
facing and now send this series to a game seven.
So we're gonna have two game sevens this weekend out West,
which is very appropriate considering how many great matchups we
had for the first round in this conference. How has
Houston been able to turn this series around so dramatically, Logan?
(01:02):
And how did they get it done tonight?
Speaker 2 (01:04):
Well, a few things.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
I think the Warriors have also really struggled in a
few areas and the Rockets and beat them out there.
Speaker 3 (01:13):
One.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
The Rockets dominance on the glass I think has completely
changed this series.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
Like sin Goudin and.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
Adams grab every rebound and I think a really big
reason the Warriors lost this game was their inability to
end possessions, manufacturing extra open looks and just extra opportunities
in general. I think another big reason the Rockets got
this one was Fred van Vliet and his pull up shooting.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
Van Vleet has looked way better.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
I will say early in this game, I didn't understand
why the Warriors were doubling him outright so much, like
I just think you're you're just manufacturing easy offense for
Houston in general.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
But Van Vleet got a.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
Lot of pull up looks that he likes, like they
were good shots for him, you know, when he's forced
to create and like isolation and shoot off the dribble
like he can do it, but he'll struggle if you're
letting him walk into open threes all game long, like
those are his bread and butter looks. And I thought
he was good in this one. I thought Sengoon was
good enough. But to me, the really big difference in
(02:12):
this one was the Warriors' inability to end possessions.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
Why Steve Kerr won't play Kevon looneymore like I think
he would be a real difference maker. I didn't think
Quinton Post was really effective in this game at all. No.
I get his like theoretical ability to space the floor,
and maybe guys have to respect him a little bit
more on that end, But I just think Looney would
have been an actual, legitimate difference maker and a guy
(02:36):
that you want in this rock fight type of game.
And the offense went stone cold in the fourth quarter.
To that, I lay at the feet of mostly Jimmy
Butler and you know, Steph just lost it a little
bit there at the end. But those guys have got
to get going. Those are the guys you trust to
create offense for you. Also, I don't know how you feel, man,
Draymond is killing me bro Like late in this game throughout.
(02:58):
Just take the open three. You guys down by so
much at this point and they're just gonna give you
the look. Just shoot it, bro Like, just stop waisting clock.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
Sometimes.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
I just want him to take the open look, man.
But the Warriors offense stalled out in the fourth quarter.
The Rockets got it going and the Warriors just can't
grab a board.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
Man.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
They need to play Loony And I don't understand why
he wasn't implemented more in this game.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
But credit to the Rockets too.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
They played well and they they battle on the glass,
and Van Vliet and Sengoon had had good offensive games.
Speaker 3 (03:28):
Today this series has totally swung on its head like
it's done a oneint eighty and there are two major
reasons for that, and they're both excellent adjustments that emo
Udoka has made. The first one is going to the
double big lineup for a majority of their minutes. We
saw this was a dominant look in the regular season
the Rockets only in one hundred and fifty minutes, but
(03:50):
when they had Shan Gun and Adams out there together
had a plus thirty three net rating, Like you can't
even conceive of how massive that number is. We saw
from Game one of this series how dominant and impactful
Steven Adams was on both ends of the floor in
this series, as an offensive rebounder of course, but then
also just taking away the rim as an interior defender
(04:11):
for the Warriors. So they've been at their best throughout
this entire series with him on the floor, and now
they're just fully leaning into it and coming into this game,
they had a plus thirty net rating in the double
big minutes in this series, so now they're just putting
Steven Adams out there for thirty plus minutes a night,
and the Warriors do not have an answer for that.
They are badly exploiting their lack of size, and you
(04:34):
mentioned I mean they're grabbing so many offensive rebounds. They
tried to hack in Adams strategy in this game again,
and not only was Steven Adams making his free throws
when he didn't, Shngun was cleaning everything up on the
offensive last. So I think the Rockets end up generating
thirteen points on eight possessions when the Warriors tried the
hack in Adams strategy, So that is obviously not working.
(04:58):
And then the other major regi that they've made that
has been so so effective has been going to the
zone defense more, which Adams is also an important part
of holding things down in the middle. By the way,
he's got a plus fifty three plus minus in this game.
This is an even series, and he is giving you
better than a plus.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
Sorry, bro, what yeah in this game?
Speaker 1 (05:18):
No?
Speaker 2 (05:18):
No, No, in this series, Oh, in this series plus
fifty three.
Speaker 3 (05:23):
Every single game he's been positive.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
Hey, I said this to my friends watching the game.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
Do you think he could be to considered the best
or the most impactful player for them in this series.
Speaker 3 (05:34):
Dude, there are multiple guys who are really close. I
would say that it's been Shngoon just being like the
most consistent half court offensive presence for them, and he's
also been super impactful on the glass. Steve and Adams
has been the second most consistently impactful guy for them
at a high level, because Van Vliet was really struggling early,
but he's come on in a huge way. A man
(05:55):
has looked more and more comfortable as the series has
gone along. But I would say that the two bigs
have been the two most consistently highly impactful players in
this series, and that Rocket Zone is just given the
Warriors nightmares. Coming into this game. The Warriors had averaged
zero point seventy to three points per possession against the
zone in this series. That is a horrifically bad number,
(06:17):
and the Warriors were one of the worst offenses against
zone this entire year. They are just doing such a
great job. The Rockets are of exploiting the major red
flags we would have had looking at the Warriors coming in.
Number one being their size. They're doing that with the
double big look. The other would be the entirety of
this supporting cast in terms of like they're surrounding offensive
(06:39):
talent once you get bass, Steph and Jimmy, Do you
trust anybody else on this Warriors team to be a
consistent productive offensive player? The answer is no. And how
many dudes on the Warriors offense look comfortable against this.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
Sun and they just don't want to shoot these zeroes
oh bruh, Like sometimes the looks are gonna be wide open,
like sometimes you just got to take the rhythm, catch
and shoot three, and they just don't even look comfortable doing.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
That, man, Like.
Speaker 1 (07:07):
I'm gonna I don't like like Aaron out like Steve
Kirk because I really like Steve Kerr, but I think
he's done a really poor job of balancing the minutes.
Sometimes I think Healed needs to be out there, man.
Sometimes I think Pods needs to be out there, like
I think Looney needed to play. I like Quinton Post
and sometimes he has really good games, but I think
(07:28):
it's like a feel a feel thing with him. And
I thought tonight was a really bad post game.
Speaker 2 (07:34):
He didn't look ready at all.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
He looks scared, he didn't want to touch the rock,
he didn't want to shoot like and I feel like,
as a coach, at your responsibility to kind of keep
the temperature on that and feel like, all right, where
are we getting beat?
Speaker 2 (07:47):
Who's playing well?
Speaker 1 (07:48):
And I just thought he wasn't playing well and they
were getting crushed on the boards, and so yeah, man,
I just I want to see some different looks and
I don't think he's doing a good job with that.
Sometimes you need healed, sometimes you need pods, but moreover,
I need to see way more looney. Man. I think
loony these last two games. I thought he should have
played more.
Speaker 3 (08:07):
I'd be playing Buddy Moore because he is literally the
only reliably very good shooter on this team outside of Steph.
And when I say that nobody looks comfortable against the zone,
I mean nobody. I'm not excluding the stars from that
fort Steph. It's not really fair because he's seeing two
bodies every single time. So like everybody else has to
be able to pick up the slack. And if you
cannot make or even take open shots against his zone,
(08:29):
if you cannot take and make open shots when Steph
is getting blimped, you're just not gonna win the series. Man.
Like Jimmy Butler's a big culprit eva Ki fucking three
off the catch, which is insane, but he literally can't
and like, I don't know that it's not like whatever
one for six from deep.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
Dre's frustrating sometimes like eighteen feet standing out in the
corner like not even getting deed up, like that's I know,
it's not the most efficient like shot, but it's a
wide open mid range jumper. There's a lot of instances
where there's wide open threes he could be and where
it's just like, all right, dude, if they're gonna can
see that look to you, you know.
Speaker 3 (09:04):
I definitely don't ever want Draymond taking a mid range
jumper if the three is there wide open. It's kind
of a feel thing like he took a couple in
the first quarter, but it's low efficiency offense, Like a
Draymond wide open three is still low efficiency. Jimmy Butler
wide open three is still low efficiency. And these other
guys did they.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
I did think Jimmy did a good job of like
getting downhill and drawing fouls and stuff like that.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
And don't get me wrong, nobody played well late.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
Like the Warriors offense stalled out completely in the fourth
quarter like that to me was the the big difference.
Speaker 3 (09:34):
But what I'm saying though, is you are able to
deploy this zone because nobody around Steph is consistently comfortable
making outside and those are the shots that they're gonna
be most readily.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
Available because they're gonna hesitate if it's not completely wide open.
They're either gonna bring the ball back down an attack
or they're just gonna pass it back, and then you've
lost your advantage.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
Like, I completely agree.
Speaker 3 (09:56):
And some of those dudes don't even know what attacking
a closeout looks like quintin Post isn't capable of that.
That's not in his game pods. I love the guy.
He is one of the most uncomfortable and worst finishers
in the paint I've ever seen in my life. So
like all of these role players who are really pretty
one dimensional offensively are getting exposed. And even like a
(10:17):
Jimmy Butler, right, the guys who they want taking outside shots,
they will let take those outside shots. The guys who
they want to run off the line and dare to
do anything else, they will run off the line and
dare to do anything else. And that's just where I
think the Warriors' limitations are getting badly exposed in the
second half of the series, and even if they make
it out of this alive, I think that they're probably
gonna get destroyed by the Timberwolves. I just think the size,
(10:41):
the kind of fake depth where it's like, Okay, yeah,
they can play any number of guys, but they literally
have nobody who they can trust reliably right after night.
Outside of the top three the Warriors, I'm saying, you
know that you're gonna get forty plus minutes from Steph, Jimmy,
and Dre. Outside of that, it's a roulette wheel of
who you're even going to play every night, who you're
even gonna start every night, Like nobody is reliably polished, good, offensively, comfortable, offensively.
(11:09):
So I think that those have been two killer adjustments
by em and they have absolutely changed this series. And
I also thought the Warriors energy was not great in
this game, just like it wasn't last game. And the
Rockets are a team that is always going to bring.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
I felt like some guys brought it, like I felt
like POD's was crashing. But there are little instances in
this game where I'm telling you, I just feel like
if Looney was out there. He could have mucked it
up a little more and maybe they get a few boards.
Like you're talking about polish. Looney's one of those guys,
like he's just right, no solid.
Speaker 3 (11:41):
I have advocated for Looney minutes to match Adams on
the glass as well. It was playing him against the
zone makes your offense even more.
Speaker 1 (11:52):
It was just really bad tonight on the glass. I
get that, it was horrendous. I mean, the Warriors couldn't
any possession to save their life. Man.
Speaker 3 (12:00):
My thing is, they also couldn't end a possession to
save their life in game one, Like they've been getting
killed on the glass and this year, especially when Adams
was on the fourth game, their offense has to be better.
Their offense has to improve. Like I understand what you're saying.
It would be nice if they could be more competitive
on the glass, but they have to be able to
figure out this zone above everything else.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
But they just.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
Crumbled in the fourth It was it was embarrassing.
Speaker 3 (12:25):
Crumbled, and they crumbled last game against it too. And
Steph does have to be better. He's forcing up some
really difficult shots, but there's just not a lot of
opportunities for him to get free and get decent looks.
I thought he was doing a nice little bit of
fallibating getting himself to the line, but it's on everybody else.
Speaker 1 (12:43):
I even thought there were because he got to the
line of fair bid in this game. I even thought
there were times though, where there were even ones that
I thought should have been called, you know, more times
he should have been sent to the line. Like the
Rockets are playing really really rough with him. Man, They're
making life hell on him.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
Like and and again.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
That's part of the point though, that we're making with
this Warrior's team as a whole, is it's like they
can not send so much attention to Steph, and the
Warriors around Steph aren't doing a good enough job of
capitalizing off of it.
Speaker 3 (13:11):
Absolutely, And that's where I want to be clear. Steph
has to be better. He has to do the sort
of special shit that he was capable of doing in
game one, that he was capable of doing in game three,
because this Warriors offense just isn't very good unless he
is doing that stuff. At the same time, if dudes
around him cannot take and make wide open shots and
cannot do anything off the bounce, if they're getting closed
(13:33):
out hard against. Then this Warriors offense just isn't going
to be functional. So that's why I would prioritize offensive personnel.
I would play Moody a good bit because he has
found his shot in these last couple of games. I
would play Buddy Held, even though he didn't make a
shot in this game. I'd play a lot of Pods,
even though sometimes he is so frustrating with his lack
of confidence, in his discomfort inside the arc. I think
(13:54):
you need him for a lot of the effort stuff,
and he does have really good feel and he draws, Yeah,
it's cut and you can't finish.
Speaker 2 (14:05):
I believe in pods.
Speaker 3 (14:07):
I love pods, but if he sets a foot inside
the three point line, he is not a threat to
score the basketball. He's shooting worse on twos than on threes.
In this series, He's shooting like thirty eight percent on
two pointers. It's just he's limited. Everybody on this team
is limited outside of Steph Curry, and that's going to
get exposed over a seven game series against a team
(14:28):
that has bigger athletes, that has more depth, it has
more versatility, and that has a really good coach. I
do want to shout out Fred van Vliet because he
has been another dude who has turned this series on
a dime. Like I was talking about early in the series,
how I just said, he's pretty easy to guard at
this point because he's so so reliant on the jumper.
(14:50):
He really isn't going to threaten you getting by you
off the bounce. But he wasn't a super efficient jump
shooter this year. I think he averaged under a point
per jump shot these last three games, though he has
been absolutely on fire. And you mentioned if they do
try to trap him like he's going to make the reads.
Fred van Vliet is gonna consistently beat you as a
decision maker and as a passer if you give him
(15:12):
opportunities to. And what so brutal is like so many
sequences where there was a broken play, if it was
an offensive rebound, this happened multiple times, if it was
when Jimmy tried to save that ball in the fourth quarter.
Like the dude who they are getting disconnected from, who
they are losing, is Fred van Vliet, which is tough
because he's the best shooter on the team right now
(15:33):
by so far.
Speaker 1 (15:34):
Also too, it's like sometimes you know they didn't come
up with the ball. But also sometimes guys were leaking out,
getting you know, trying to get out on the break
and transition prematurely, and they just got beat because of that.
Speaker 3 (15:45):
Like the one off the inbound was embarrassing, just straight
out of a timeout, but it wasn't anything drawn up.
They literally just were not guarding Fred van Vliet on
the wing and he got an open three and it
was an and one.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
And those are that's that's the one guy you can't
let spray open looks and more importantly literally just off
like pull up in transition. Those are the looks that
van Vliet is ready for, and he got way too
many easy looks for me too.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
Not to just keep dogging on the Doves.
Speaker 1 (16:15):
But like I also thought they were sloppy a little
bit in the first half, like they had to battle
back at the end of the second quarter to make
it close. Like the Rockets convincingly like played better I
thought in the first half.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
Sloppy, not taking care of the ball.
Speaker 1 (16:28):
And again I gotta just give a ton of props
to the Houston defense, and they're collective, like in general,
you know, Tarry Easton, Jabari Smith, Junior, Adams, I even thought,
you know, Jalen Green has his some moments in this game.
Speaker 2 (16:41):
He didn't have a great game by anything.
Speaker 3 (16:43):
It was funny to me when Reggie Miller said that's
how you have an impact elite defense, and you watch
the blitz and it's fully Steven Adams making the play.
Like when Jalen Green got the leak out dunk after that,
that kind of made me laugh.
Speaker 1 (16:56):
But I mean, he's got a block in this game.
That was nice to see from Jalen Green. But so
I want to give credit to the Rockets defense too
when I'm saying that. But the Warriors have been sloppy
at moments in this game, and it's just like, it's
not gonna kill you, but those things accumulate over the
entirety of the game and they come back to haunt you.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
Man, when you're wasting possessions like that and just being
sloppy with the ball. And we've seen it too many
times with the Warriors in this series.
Speaker 3 (17:20):
They are already going to lose the possession game on
the glass every single game. They cannot also lose it
convincingly in the turnover battle, which they did in this one.
They had seventeen turnovers and by the way, Steph is
very culpable in that because he had a couple of
bad turnovers when he was getting blitzed in the first
half of this game. Like, he's got to be better,
for sure, But when they're losing the possession game on
(17:43):
the glass, and they're losing the possession game in terms
of the turnover battle, and then they're also struggling this
much to make shots or create good shots against the zone,
Like it doesn't feel like this was an eight point game, man,
Like they kept hanging in there, but they were down
the entire time, and the Rockets have really figured some
major stuff out. The one more adjustment that I might
(18:08):
be inclined to make if I'm e meo O Doka
is to go away from Jalen Green even more. I
just think he's been really bad offensively in four of
six games this series. I guess I'll like give him
kind of half bad in uh game five because they
didn't really need much from him. But like, outside of
(18:29):
his one explosion, it's been a lot of really tough
sledding from him as a jump shooter, as a decision
maker when he's getting blitzed, looks totally uncomfortable not playing
at his own pace. He's sped up, like he's really
really struggling out there. And then other dudes have just
been great, Like, I don't know why he wouldn't start
Steven Adams for Game seven because that's so clearly their
(18:49):
best lineup and they're playing him starter minutes now. But
I just get out there with my best five. Jabari
Smith has been so impressive every time he has set
foot on the four in this series. His size defensively
has been impactful, but his shot making has been the
most consistently good of any Rocket. And then Tari's also
been really impactful man. I mean he flies around him
(19:10):
makes crazy plays on the defensive end. He had a
couple of reckless closeouts in this one. I think he
fouled both Jimmy and Steph on jump shots, but as
an athlete, like he's getting to the rim, he knocks
down a couple threes in this game. I just think
that big wing archetype, those two way guys have been
really impactful in this series, and you just continue to
(19:31):
stack more and more of that size and athletic advantage
on top of the Warriors and overwhelm them. Now if
Van Vliet is struggling in Game seven, that's where I
would turn to Jalen Green Moore, because like, you have
to have somebody from the perimeter who can create shots
off the bounce. But at the end of the day,
they're dominating the series with their size, with their athleticism,
with their rebounding, with their defense, and when guys like
(19:53):
Jabari Smith are also making their outside shots, I don't
know what else you want, Like, I just play that
guy a lot. I think that their best five players
pretty clearly in this series have been Shengoon, Adams, Van Vliet,
a Man, and Jabari Smith, and I think that that's
probably what I would just go with as my main
five in game seven.
Speaker 1 (20:11):
I mean, he wouldn't be in my top six because
I'd have Tory Easton probably getting burned before him.
Speaker 3 (20:18):
Before Jalen Green.
Speaker 1 (20:19):
I don't think you need him. I don't, And he's
just been bad, Like I feel like he's not really
that locked in defensively ague and he has his moments,
but it's like if I'm gonna play a guy for
defense and I don't care compare.
Speaker 3 (20:31):
To the alternatives. It's just like the Rockets have sick
defenders elsewhere.
Speaker 1 (20:34):
Exactly, man, And I just think that other guys have
been a bigger positive. And there's always that, I guess
possibility that Jalen Green is gonna have a big game,
but I just don't there is I just don't trust
him in his minutes as much consistently as other guys.
Speaker 4 (20:51):
Man.
Speaker 1 (20:51):
And if Van Vliet's gonna be shooting like this, you
really don't need him out there, like you're getting what
you need from from him, and I think other guys
are just better.
Speaker 2 (21:01):
I'm I'm disappointed with Jayalen Green man, like I've never
been the highest, but I root for the guy I want.
I would like to see.
Speaker 3 (21:08):
You tried to talk me into all start Jalen Green
potential after game two.
Speaker 2 (21:11):
I'd like to see it, bro. It would be nice,
Like I'd like to see him make a.
Speaker 3 (21:15):
I had to break reality. Leave.
Speaker 1 (21:17):
Dude.
Speaker 2 (21:19):
You know you root for the guy, man, you want
to see him get better.
Speaker 3 (21:23):
It does kind of astound me how much of a
talking point it is on the broadcast, like every single game,
like a Jalen Green struggling, Like they're basically unfair to
him because they treat him like he's a star. And
he's not. And I guess because he's got the aura
and he's got me stop commercial and he was.
Speaker 2 (21:42):
The sec lead core like this season.
Speaker 3 (21:45):
Well, I think that's a big part of it too.
I think people literally just look at points per game
and they think, oh, that guy's got to be their
best player. But like Shangoon a man, these guys have
been more impactful for this entire season.
Speaker 1 (21:55):
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma City. Sorry, if I was Houston, I'm
might this offseason, depending on how things go. I might
treat Jayalen Green kind of like Josh Giddy like that
Oklahoma Oklahoma City did, And I might, I don't know,
man shop him for. I wouldn't give him up like
for something as little as like Caruso, but I would
shop him around and see if there's a team women
(22:17):
to give me a big dog, you know.
Speaker 3 (22:19):
For I don't know why I were down playing Alex Caruso,
absolute monster I would shoot for. I think it's very
likely that he is involved in a Devin Booker deal.
I don't think the least very high that's.
Speaker 2 (22:31):
The ideal, or if it was a KD deal or.
Speaker 3 (22:34):
Yeah, but first round picks like I don't think Jalen
Green is viewed as a very good asset by any
team in the AR.
Speaker 1 (22:41):
That's what I'm saying. I'm just saying I wouldn't be
married to him. I wouldn't be attached to him, and
like saying, oh, he's a part of our young core
in the I got a man, you know, and I
feel like a man has already got one of my
guard spots. Man Vleet's good enough right now to give
us minutes. There's other guys that I want to get.
I'm just saying I wouldn't feel like a need to
hold on to him if there's a big deal, you know,
(23:03):
I wouldn't feel like he's a movable if there's a
big deal on the.
Speaker 3 (23:06):
Table, he's like the furthest thing from immovable man. I'd
absolutely be willing to put him on the table in
any deal. I think that with the contract extension that's
about to kick in, like, he's not an asset that
I would want to be attached to. He's just got
so many flaws as a decision maker, so inconsistent as
a jump shooter, so inconsistent in terms of his ability
to actually get to and finish at the rim, which
(23:28):
I know is surprising because of like the raw athleticism
he possessed in terms of quickness, but it is a
consistent trend throughout four years of his career and none
of these things have gotten significantly better. So I've been
very consistent with Jalen Green. I've been out on him
as somebody like with real star potential for a while,
and I think that absolutely they should always be willing
to move off of him like in any given game,
(23:50):
because they just have a lot of good depth and
that's one of their advantages, like I said, and like
you said, he's got the potential to have a big game.
And if Van Vliet is off okay, then I see
you potentially turning to Jail Green wore. But when he's
struggling like this offensively, I just think there are dudes
who have more consistent Joey impacts. We have a question
from Liam, who makes a generous donation to the Nerd
Sedge Foundation. Thank you, Liam. Feels obvious, but if the
(24:11):
Warriors blow this, how much heat is Kerr getting for
the early benching in Game five?
Speaker 1 (24:16):
I thought about that too, Thank you Liam for the donation.
I was thinking about that too, because late in this game,
it's a thirteen point game with like I don't know,
I think like three or four minutes left, and I
was like, I Dann, we were in the exact same situation,
but we didn't put.
Speaker 2 (24:31):
The starters back in. I'd be.
Speaker 1 (24:36):
I'm just frustrated occur in general, man, not just that,
but again, the minutes in this game.
Speaker 2 (24:43):
It's tough because it's really hard. He's gonna this is
this is what I'm will say.
Speaker 1 (24:47):
Like the way that Reddick is getting like a lot
of flak for how he managed the Lakers, It's just tough. Man.
I feel like the Warriors are kind of at a
personnel disadvantage just with their lack of like actual down
and they compromised that. They made that decision when they
made the Jimmy Butler trade. It was the right decision,
but you gave up a lot of the guys that
(25:08):
you could turn to as supplemental pieces for impact in
a playoff game. And yeah, that's how I feel with
The Rockets don't have that problem. They've got their identity,
they've figured out what they can do to exploit the
Warriors issues, and they're playing that. They've got a lot
of guys they can turn to that are more reliable,
and the Warriors don't have that luxury. Like it's tough,
(25:28):
so like, I don't think Kurs managed it in the
best way, But I don't think there's an easy answer,
and so I think he's probably gonna get a little
too much blame for what's going on when I think
a lot of the blame should be on the players too,
Like again the offense stalling out, but them not getting
not being able to get no rebound. I think that
I put more of that on cur Like I do
(25:49):
want to see more Looney in Game seven. Man, he
hasn't played enough in this series.
Speaker 3 (25:52):
What do you do with Kevon Looney offensively against this.
Speaker 2 (25:55):
Care bru It's a nasty series.
Speaker 3 (25:56):
You don't care. You have to be able to score
the basketball.
Speaker 2 (26:00):
Our offense is ultimately the If I'm the Warriors, the
offense is ultimately gonna evolve into Steph shooting contested crazy
three is We're gonna hope he hits.
Speaker 1 (26:09):
Jimmy's gonna get into the lane and try to draw
some fouls. Like, I don't really think the offense changes
that much. I just think you need somebody who can
bang down low, and I trust Looney to do that.
Speaker 3 (26:20):
Of all the games, this was definitely not the ugliest
on the glass for the Warriors. In fact, somehow they
end up plus two on the offensive glass. That's a
fake number, like because there are certain times where Steven
is getting fouled on an offensive rebound. Like, yeah, they
are absolutely getting dominated on the glass. But I don't
know how much Looney can help them there. I do
(26:41):
think he helps. I also think he really hurts them offensively,
which I think they need to badly get figured out.
And like I think Steve Kerr has by far the
hardest job of any coach in this playoff field because
he has three good basketball players who he knows he
can trust on a night to night basis, and everybody
else he's got a guess and feel it out and
like some of the dudes who I've advocated for playing
(27:03):
right are wildly unreliable. And Quentin Post has had some
great games in the series, and he's had some horrible
games in the series, but he heal has had some
great games in the series. He's had some horrible games
in the series. The one guy who I do think
he should play more is Moses Moody, who I am
a believer in, But it's so game to game with
all of these guys. They're all so flawed and limited
(27:24):
in their own ways. Like, yeah, it's his job to
get it right, but it's way way harder than what
any other coach is having to do in terms of rotations,
in terms of the game five benching, I don't really
put that on curR. I would say that was just
a collective Warriors mentality thing. I thought they came into
that game way too willing to just sort of let
it slide. And the Rockets also had like a great
(27:46):
shooting performance, they had their best offensive performance in a
long time, and things just were not going right for
the Warriors. Like that had all of the ingredients for
a blowout, but I didn't think anybody brought the necessary intensity,
And at the time he pulled them, it was like
all right down whatever, twenty five with six minutes to
go in the third. They weren't going to come back
with how they were playing in that game. So I
(28:06):
wouldn't put too much heat on him for that, But
the Warriors are definitely going to look back at that
one and maybe they couldn't have won it. Even if
they played really hard, right, just because the Rockets had
a great offensive game, But that could be very, very
costly because now you're looking at a game seven. This
is spoilt from Discord. Thank you, spoiled for your generous donation,
says has Draymond permanently ruined his career perception because of
(28:29):
how immature he regularly is.
Speaker 1 (28:33):
I think I can only speak for me, but like, personally, no,
Like I'm always gonna appreciate Draymond as a basketball genius
and one of the greatest defensive players of all time.
So I mean, for me, he's immortalized, but I don't know,
maybe in the public perception he is. I can't really
speak on nev. For me, no, nothing could ever I
appreciate Draymond's basketball genius.
Speaker 3 (28:54):
I think the Draymond has always been and will always
be one of the most unfavorably viewed great players in
the public eye. Part of that is absolutely because of
the stuff that he does on the court. Right, He's
always involved in hyjenks. He is extremely physical, He's good
for a flagrant foul every other game and attack every
(29:15):
other game, and like that stuff absolutely gets on people's nerves. Also,
his skill set is just inherently going to be underappreciated
because it's so ugly offensively, and basketball fans just absolutely
love sweet sexy buckets and Draymond is going to give
you none of that, But he is going to give
you a plus value in so many other ways. One
of one defensive versatility in NBA history, such unique playmaking
(29:37):
value that is going to lead him to have an
impact that is always underappreciated. And all of this other
stuff that he's doing is just going to continue to
hurt his image more and more. But I don't know
if this series is changing anything. Man, I think the
public perception and opinion on Draymond is set in stone.
I think it's kind of been set in stone since
the twenty sixteen finals, and then everything's said then has
(30:00):
maybe just been an escalation. Obviously last year got out
of control for a bit.
Speaker 2 (30:04):
Everybody forgot about Game seven.
Speaker 1 (30:06):
Man.
Speaker 3 (30:07):
Yeah, Dreamon's always gonna be underappreciated. But if you cannot
stand his on court persona, I totally get that. I mean,
like he is an irritant to the max, He is
a complainer to the max, and comes with the territory.
He's a great player, but he's definitely always had that
stuff going on. The NBA eighty two game grind is done,
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Speaker 3 (32:52):
Anything else you want to say before we wrap this
one up, Logan.
Speaker 2 (32:55):
Warriors need to tighten up.
Speaker 3 (32:56):
Man.
Speaker 1 (32:57):
I think this is said way more to me about
the Warriors than it has about the Rockets. And I
don't want to take anything away from the Rockets because
they have had a tremendous season, but the way the
Warriors have lost these last two games has been really,
really ugly, and like I said, I think it says
more about the Doves, and it does.
Speaker 3 (33:14):
Houston Rockets have more buttons to push flat out, they
have more good basketball players, they have more lineup versatility.
Not trying to beat a dead horse, but that's been
the theme of the playoffs, and it seemed like this
was maybe the one series that would cut through and
defy that, just because Steph was going to be so
great and the Rockets were going to have the fatal
flaw with their half court offense. But in these last
couple of games, those have been the exact things where
(33:36):
the Rockets have a major advantage, and that has made
all the difference. If you had to pick who's winning Game.
Speaker 2 (33:40):
Seven, I still take the Doves.
Speaker 3 (33:46):
I'm gonna also place an irrational confidence in Steph Curry
bet and say that he's able to reach a ridiculous
level but way better for the last two games.
Speaker 2 (33:58):
I agree. I'm betting on Stephan Jimmy.
Speaker 3 (34:01):
That was my thought coming into this series. But basketball
has played five on five and the Rockets have really
really found some major advantages that they have in this
series that if they had fully figured out earlier, this
thing might already be over. Man Like if they were
just playing Steven Adams thirty plus minutes from the jump
(34:21):
in this series, if they had gone to the zone earlier,
those things have given the Warriors major, major problems. That's
gonna wrap it ups for here tonight. Guys, hope you
enjoyed this one. If you did, the good news is
there is plenty more nerd ssh content. I found one
more number Warriors against the zone tonight point eight two
points per possession. That's terrible, Like, that's just terrible. Again.
(34:43):
Last game they were point six to one points per
possession against the zone and they faced thirty four possessions
of zone tonight. You're not gonna win playoff games doing that.
You have to make shots, you have to make better decisions,
you have to be more comfortable against the zone and
that's on everybody. Anyways, as I was saying, you can
find all of our postgame live streams here on our
(35:03):
YouTube channel. You can also see all of our video
essay and video breakdown content that we do. You can
listen to the pod across all audio platforms, and you
can check us out on social tik talk and Instagram
at nerd sessh, Twitter at nerd Underscore Sesh to see
clicks from the show, graphics from the show, and all
of our short form trivia content. And with that, appreciate
you guys. As always, I've been Carson Braber, I have
(35:25):
been looking Camden and this was nerd Sash
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