Warriors looking to pick up the pace against old-school Rockets in Game 2
HOUSTON – In a matchup whose first game was defined by defensive caginess and stilted offensive sequences, Warriors coach Steve Kerr used a term often used in soccer – a sport where every point is prized – to describe the team’s philosophy against the Houston Rockets in the Western Conference first-round playoff series.
“This whole series to me is about the possession game,” Kerr said on Tuesday morning. “They’re going to attack the glass, but if we can win the turnover battle, that gives us a good chance.”
Seventh-seeded Golden State cut off the Rockets’ lethal fast-break in Sunday’s 95-85 victory, holding Houston and its springy athletes to just four points in the open court and ripping homecourt advantage away from the No. 2 seed.
The teams will play Game 2 on Wednesday.
Kerr noted that having only 11 turnovers helped Golden State put a damper on Houston’s go-go-go style of play, and said that three of those were shot clock violations, which did not allow Houston to run in transition while Steph Curry poured in 31 points.
“It’s about being poised, executing and keeping them from the easy stuff,” Kerr said. “Free throws, transition layups and all that easy stuff.”
While hoping to force Houston’s stop-and-start offense to execute in the half court, the Warriors – despite having stars that are in their mid-30s – will look to push the tempo in Game 2.
“I think we’re fine in the half court, but we want to run and get easy baskets,” Kerr said.
Golden State had 16 fast-break points, but were just 20th in the regular season in transition points at 14.5 per game.
Successfully shifting to a higher gear than normal involves grabbing defensive rebounds, something the team struggled to do in the opener. Houston had 22 offensive boards and outrebounded Golden State 52-36.
“It really wasn’t about boxing out,” Kerr said. “I thought that for most of the game, we were battling and guys were hitting bodies, and I thought there were a few that we didn’t grab with two hands.”
The team’s best rebounder, Kevon Looney, said that the Warriors know what they need to do.
“We’ve got to be better,” Looney said. “I think we’ve been a pretty good rebounding team all season, and I think they beat us to a lot of 50-50 balls, and they’ve got a lot of athletic guys, big guys, and they missed a lot of shots, too. We have to be better at winning the small battles.”
One possible tweak could be playing a twin tower lineup of Quinten Post and Looney, especially when the Rockets go double-big with Alperen Sengun and Steven Adams.
“We like it because Loon is our best rebounder and Quinten is one of our best shooters,” Kerr said. “So we’re able to space the floor against them with those two big guys, and present a little bit more size, actually the most size we possibly can.”
No matter what lineup the Warriors throw out on Wednesday, they expect Houston to play with desperation only a team facing a 2-0 deficit and a trip to Chase Center can muster.
“Oh there’s going to be a fight, we know that,” Kerr said. ”I mean, hopefully not literally, but figuratively. They’re a tough, physical defensive-minded team, a great team and they’re bringing it. And we’ve been through this for many years.”