Yeah this makes sense because the Rockets employed that small switch everything defense, which was the only way you could play that team with Klay, Steph, and KD. That Rockets team was really built to beat those Warriors and a few unlucky breaks prevented that. That was definitely the 3rd best Rockets team of all time behind the two championship teams obviously.
KD loving iso is no surprise and that’s fine, but you have to mix it up. There’s a reason Olajuwon iso stopped working and we needed a diverse offense instead. That’s when we started winning.
Last year’s team was middle of the pack in ISO around 7.6% frequency to 9.6% this year. They are a top 5 ISO team this year likely due to Durant
I had never actually looked it up but KD is only averaging 0.99 PPP in isolation which is not that great...only 68th percentile in the league. He spent a decade being in the 90th percentile or higher, sometimes in the 95th percentile or higher. I didn't realize he had dropped off so badly. It's probably got more to do with the way he's guarded and the way he feels like he has to force it due to our lack of talent, but regardless, the results aren't impressive.
if he likes ISO ball so much, he should have joined back in 2016. that was peak rockets ISO ball. smh
yep i think you’re right. He forces things and when he does the results aren’t good. Interesting because he forced ISO play in that 2018 series against Rockets games 4-7 and GS offense sputtered. This article explains it: Turns out that offer was pulled from the table, and instead we got the bad with the bad. In Games 4 through 6, Durant shot 36.5% from the field, and the Warriors’ offense showed an uncharacteristic lack of rhythm. In our Warriors-Rockets version of this scenario, Durant is both Shaq and Kobe, while Kobe is (ironically) also Strength in Numbers. D’Antoni and Jeff Bzdelik knew that Durant could cook them on isolation plays, and KD knew it too — a nice pot of honey. But as time went on, KD wore down and started pressing while Houston made those iso plays harder and harder on him, all the while creating stagnation elsewhere in the Dubs’ offense. In Games 4 and 5, like Kobe, the rhythmless Warriors started pressing. https://www.goldenstateofmind.com/2...2018-kevin-durant-warriors-rockets-isolations
Im not disputing that many players and teams play ISO. In fact I’ve said the top teams and players play a large dose of ISO. I’m just presenting info that Durant historically plays ISO with great frequency and he has preferred to play that way. Coaches adjust to players and likely this is what happened with Udoka. We play this way not only due to coaching but because he prefers playing this way. The Fred injury also played a factor but KD loves the ball in his hands and going to work with it.
Our offense looks horrid and super stagnant when we force the ball to KD over and over. He needs another super high gravity guy for this to work super reliably at his age, Having it in your bag as a team is nice, but there are other linked articles where he complains about the team passing too much - I think this is just KD trying to impose or make space for his game without much consideration to what works best for that team. And he’s doing that same thing here too. GSW was lucky to have Draymond and Steph and Kerr who all pushed back - we have none of those checks and balances so this will probably be the franchise he kills most easily lol. He already broke his own record by ruining the vibes in 6 months.
also of note just to clarify, not all post ups are ISO’s. Like Hakeem were mainly post ups. ISO is when you post and have 4 players on weak side on the other side of the court cleared out.
Yes this has been the problem in terms of poor shooting overall and 2 guys that can’t shoot 3’s at all. One thing to clarify is the reporting in the past documented Durant moving away from GS motion oriented year 2 and especially in the playoffs where he went long stretches forcing ISO’s and getting away from a team ball movement concept. He almost lost the 2018 series against us that way.
4 weak side clear out doesn't happen anymore after the abolition of illegal defense. It is much easier to double team the low post. That's how they neutralized Yao Ming. And since post up play is typically back to the basket, it's difficult to kick out if all your teammates are on the other side. You have to have floor spacers on the strong side to keep the defense honest.
I mispoke. Not all 4 guys are always weakside although they could be but most of the clear out is weakside with a guy top of the key that sometimes isn’t exactly strong side. The advantage is it makes it tough on defenses to collapse and double due to cutters or shooters being open since that side is overloaded.
interesting piece from 2019. Similar issues we see now https://www.goldenstateofmind.com/2...-curry-offense-clutch-isolation-pick-and-roll “The rest of the players on the Warriors thrive with the ballhandler on the move, and because Durant has a difficult time passing out of the double-team, there simply aren’t enough secondary options for these midrange isolations. They’re even less effective when Durant has a good defender like PJ Tucker on him.” “Against the Rockets on Thursday, his midrange isolations returned in the clutch, and they might have cost the Warriors’ the game. He had trouble diagnosing double teams and finding the open man, got pushed around a little bit on the block, and clogged up the Warrior’s offensive flow. He did, however, find success when he attacked the basket; defenders like James Harden, PJ Tucker, and Clint Capela simply aren’t fast enough to stay with him.”
Lol what. Kerr is just like Mazzulla. Inherited a team that was ready to win it all. When do u ever hear anyone mention Kerr as one of the greatest coaches ever? Now Kerr without his super team looks super average. Meanwhile Ime took a team with Jalen Green as their 2nd best player to a 2nd seed. Green choked in the playoffs but still took the Warriors 7 games with your 2nd best player nonexistent the entire series. Yall have no idea how lucky the Rockets are getting Ime as coach. This his 2nd year, he's already exceeded expectations. Give this man a point guard.
3rd year but I agree on your points. He doesn’t get enough credit. I think the fan was just talking about Kerr’s credentials as having won titles. I personally don’t think he’s that great either and that team without a healthy and capable Thompson couldn’t do anything. 2022 might be his best championship with Thompson being 85-90% and a less talented team. Mazzula plays heavy ISO with Brown and Tatum and mixes up a few things with the guards like a lot of curls and get action with Pritchard. But he literally didn’t win anything until he had a super team as well
Nice find! My response to Durant’s comment is: When you win the title going 16-1 with a gentleman’s sweep in the Finals, clearly they were so stacked they could have won running GSW’s normal offense throughout, but KD’s way meant he’d get Final’s MVP rather than Curry. Lulz And his way almost got them beat by the Rockets the next year. (And we got robbed)
