Ladies and gentleman, I present to you the players that could bring an end to the Warriors this season...PJ Tucker and Eric Gordon! No, you did not read that wrong. The tough, gritty, journeymen Rockets are causing all sorts of nightmares for the Warriors in the second round of the playoffs. Today, we will be looking at how these players affect the 2-2 series so much, and how they might stop the Warriors freight train.
Firstly, let's look at PJ Tucker. In game 1 of the series, the Warriors surprised the Rockets by starting Andre Iguodala, and running Draymond Green at center in place of Andrew Bogut or Kevon Looney. This led to a versatile Warriors team that could switch everything on defense, and made it very easy to hide weak defender Steph Curry. The Rockets could not adjust to this, and struggled. Then, in games 3 and 4, they made a drastic switch. Rather than run small forward or power forward, PJ Tucker ran the 5 position, creating a small ball lineup. This confounded the Warriors, especially when it came to rebounding. the 6'6 Tucker would stay in the corner, but bring Draymond with him, leaving nobody to guard the paint. Then, any one of the Rockets could crash the boards to get key offensive rebounds.
Eric Gordon also has elevated his game this series. From a stats standpoint, he is averaging 23 points per game against Golden State, and is looking like the second scoring option for Houston. The uniqueness of his play style gives the Warriors fits. He is a former 3 point contest champion and a lethal shooter, so Golden State must guard him as soon as he touches the ball. Often matched up against Curry, Gordon easily can blow by him and have a clear lane. The Warriors then are forced to leave their men to help on Gordon, and he often makes the right pass or draws a foul while going up for a layup.
The Warriors need to make adjustments before a crucial game 5 in Oakland. They need all of their stars to step up, as currently, Kevin Durant is carrying the team. Both of the Splash Brothers are in a big slump, and if they cannot change drastically, the Rockets could pull off the major upset against the two time defending champs.
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