Can Pistons Solve Rockets?
By J.M. Poulard
Essentials
- Teams: Detroit Pistons (23-37) at Houston Rockets (41-20)
- Date: March 6, 2015
- Time: 8:00 p.m.
- Television: FSD
Get in the Game
After falling on the road to the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday night – Anthony Davis was spectacular with 39 points, 13 rebounds and eight blocks – the Detroit Pistons will try to bounce back tonight against the Houston Rockets.
I won’t mince words, it’s going to be a difficult contest for the Pistons in Houston.
Sure, Detroit was victorious against this very same opponent in late January, but Houston was playing on the second night of a back-to-back set and its third game in four nights.
What’s more, Detroit converted 10-of-25 treys and 22-of-35 free throws. It will be hard for the road team to replicate such a feat against a Houston team that boasts a top-six defense.
The Rockets run a scheme that’s similar in execution to the one Lionnel Hollins used to run when he coached the Memphis Grizzlies. Houston loads up on the ball and shades defenders towards the strong side of the court.
Most teams operate in this manner, but Houston is different because it goes directly after the ball whenever a ball-handler makes a pick-and-roll pass. Some opponents get cute and forego the pick-and-roll route, favoring isolations instead, and those also play into Houston’s hands.
The Rockets will give the opposing offensive player a zone look and bait him into making a cross-court pass that they can pick off and take back the other way. Houston’s Jedi mind tricks help it generate turnovers at a top-four rate and rank among the league’s top-three teams in transition points per game.
How does one conquer Houston’s defense?
Ball movement. Unlike Hollins’ Grizzlies, these Rockets do not consistently recover on the backend after a few rotations. Thus, throwing the ball from one side to the next and keeping it live is the best way to generate high-percentage looks against Houston.
In addition, quick post-ups are a good way to manufacture quality looks against Houston, but that well will run dry fairly rapidly. Rockets head coach Kevin McHale has an interesting wrinkle he uses to confuse interior players, and it’s quite brilliant.
Instead of doubling players on the catch, the Rockets will typically come double the post player’s blindside from the opposite area of the court after a few dribbles. If the primary defender does his job well, he’ll force the post-up guy into a spin move or drop step to the side where the extra defender just arrived at.
That creates turnovers (lost ball, travel, etc..) or forces the big man to kick the ball out all the way across the floor.
Houston’s defense is pretty tough to solve, and that makes the team a formidable opponent especially with James Harden in tow.
The bearded one is one of the league’s best scorers and playmakers, which makes him a tough cover. He creates a ton of fouls and puts pressure on opponents with his three-point shooting.
What’s more, he’s a heck of ball-handler who happens to star on a team that places a huge emphasis on long-range shooting. As a result, anytime he gets into the lane, Harden is afforded three choices: score at the basket, get fouled or kick the ball out for an open trey.
He’s quite possibly the leading MVP candidate, and Detroit will have a tough time matching up with him as evidenced by his previous performance against it in late January (26 points, nine assists and seven rebounds on 10-fo-17 shooting).
The Pistons will have some issues with the Rockets tonight, but it’s hardly an impossible task. Houston is next to last in terms of taking care of the ball and will continue to fire away from long range even if it’s not making shots.
Should Detroit’s coaching staff devise a game plan that forces Houston players to put the ball on the floor or take contested threes, the Pistons will be able to force misses and long rebounds, which should help them get out in transition, which the Rockets defend at a league bottom-three rate.
Also, if the wrong players are goaded into driving the ball, it will lead to miscues and additional transition chances for Detroit. Make no mistake, the Pistons will have a shot at taking down the Rockets tonight, and it will all hinge on their offensive and defensive transition efficiency.
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