3 Ways The Warriors Can Try To Solve The Rockets’ Size In Game 7

After suffering a second straight loss to the Houston Rockets, the Golden State Warriors now find themselves knotted at three games a piece in this first-round series, leaving them reeling for answers ahead of a do-or-die Game 7 clash.

As it stands, their biggest problem (as we predicted) has been dealing with Houston’s twin tower tandem of Alperen and Steven Adams. The Rockets hold a plus-26.1 net rating during the 75 minutes they’ve played together this series (per PBP Stats).

Staring at elimination, Golden State must figure a way to combat Houston’s size, particularly whenever Şengün and Adams are both on the floor. So, let’s identify three counters the Warriors could possibly take to regain control of this series and win Sunday’s Game 7.

Option No. 1: Hack-A-Adams

In Game 4, the Warriors dusted off a popular tactic from the mid-2000s to try and force Rockets head coach Ime Udoka to bench Adams. It worked that time, as Udoka blinked first and benched Adams from the 4:25 mark of the fourth until the 1:55 to go. During that Adams-less stretch, the Warriors went from being down one to up three, ultimately winning by that margin and securing a 3-1 series lead.

In Game 6, with Adams practically monopolizing the rebounding category, the Warriors turned to this method again. However, this time, Udoka was much more disciplined. These days, the “Hack-a” strategy isn’t nearly as popular because it’s actually really hard to find a player who can’t hit free throws at a rate at least matching a team’s half-court offensive rating.

Adams is a career 53.3 percent free-throw shooter, which equates to 1.07 points per possession. This season, the Rockets averaged just 0.93 points per play in the half-court (per Cleaning the Glass). So, in some regards, the Warriors were actually giving the Rockets better offensive opportunities by intentionally fouling Adams than they would have had otherwise.

Anyway, in Game 6, Udoka refused to take Adams out. He trusted the veteran to convert his free throws at an adequate rate and keep the offense above water. Adams more than rose to the occasion, hitting 9 of his 16 attempts (56.3 percent, 1.13 PPP).

Of course, that was just one game. The Warriors could try and dare him to make those free throws again in Game 7. But given how low the bar is for successful offense from the charity stripe, it seems too risky to work.

Option No. 2: Space The Rockets Out

In the series preview, we outlined how this matchup would be a clash of contrasting styles. The Rockets’ extreme size and athleticism versus the Warriors’ superior shooting and skill.

So far, Houston has dictated the of engagement. It’s forced head coach Steve Kerr to play less skilled and versatile players in attempt to get bigger bodies on the floor.

However, in the fourth quarter of Game 6, Kerr decided he was done playing Houston’s game. He went with his customary smaller lineups, oscillating among Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green, Brandin Podziemski, Gary Payton II, Buddy Hield and Moses Moody for the Warriors’ five-man lineups. That didn’t work the way Kerr hoped, as the Rockets outscored the Warriors 26-13 during the competitive portion of the quarter.

The Warriors did only shoot 1-of-12 from downtown in the final frame. What happens if they shoot closer to the way they did in the third quarter (7-of-15)? How tenable is it then for Houston to play a pair of lumbering 7-footers?

Option No. 3: Alter The Rotation

The Warriors are a deep team. It’s not in the way the Minnesota Timberwolves are with their fearsome front eight, but rather in the sense there isn’t a super steep drop off between their sixth- and 12th-best players.

This poses problems in other situations (i.e., the later rounds of the playoffs), but right now, it offers Kerr and his staff some options for how they want to solve this first-round riddle. Yet since there isn’t much of a talent disparity among their bench guys, all of them come with serious drawbacks.

Outside of the seven players mentioned above, Kerr’s other realistic options are Gui Santos, Quinten Post, Kevon Looney, Trayce Jackson-Davis and Jonathan Kuminga.

Santos has shown some 3-and-D chops throughout the season. But at 6 feet 6 inches, he doesn’t really add much in the height department. Post has size (7 feet tall) and can shoot (40.8 percent from three), but his defense kills the team. You can’t even say he is one of those heady, positionally sound guys. He’s constantly late to spots and fouling on contests. He picked up five fouls in just under 18 minutes last game.

If there’s anyone in the league who can ever hope to bang with Adams on the boards, it’s Looney. Two years ago, he helped push the Warriors to a Game 7 victory over the Sacramento Kings through sheer willpower and nabbed 21 total rebounds, 10 of which came on the offensive glass. However, despite his determination inside, he’s still a few inches smaller than Adams at 6 feet 9 inches and isn’t a good enough offensive player to make up the difference (minus-1.1 Offensive Estimated Plus-Minus).

Jackson-Davis’ lob gravity makes him a slightly better offensive player than Looney (minus-0.6 Offensive EPM), but he’s younger and less battle-tested than the veteran. Plus, he’s also not super tall relative to the center spot, standing 6 feet 9 inches just like Looney.

Then, there is Kuminga. While easily the most talented of this bunch, he also comes with the most baggage. Heading into the postseason, Kuminga was out of the rotation due to his inability to play alongside Butler. After Butler went down in Game 2, Kuminga was thrust back into the rotation, even starting in his place in Game 3. Since then, though, Kuminga hasn’t played a single second. However, as reported by Anthony Slater, a return to the rotation in Game 7 is entirely possible.

Even if he does play, there are still unknowns. Can Kuminga avoid his ball-stopper tendencies and fit into a role built around finishing quick-hitting plays, while using his size and strength to wrestle Houston’s bigs inside? If he can, it changes everything for Golden State. But if not, Kuminga’s minutes could be damaging enough to end the Warriors’ season.

What Should The Warriors Do?

While all of these strategies come with pros and cons, and making decisions from where I’m sitting with no consequences is always easy, I’m still going to lean Option No. 2.

As a general rule, it is never good to let an opponent decide the way the game is going to be played. The Warriors giving up free chances at the line or opting for less preferable players just to match Houston’s size basically tells the Rockets to come hunt them.

With Option No. 2, the Warriors can maintain their identity by gambling on their stars (Curry and Butler) and best role players (Podziemski and Moody) to hit their shots. Staying true to their style seems the best course of action for winning this series and booking a trip to round two.