Golden State Warriors Must Continue to Win Game of Guards

Game 1 between the Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors was our first peek at an epic battle in the Game of Guards.

At the center of it all was House Beard (James Harden) vs. House Splash (Klay Thompson), two noble houses fighting to lead their team to an NBA Finals Appearances.

The matchup between Harden and Thompson is probably the most intriguing in the series. Though a few other defenders took some runs at him, a vast majority of the game Thompson was shadowing Harden. And he was doing a pretty good job of it, until Harden went in to full Beardmode and wasn’t getting to the lane, so he just started making every single mid-range shot he took. This wasn’t bad defense from Thompson — just a strong offensive outing from Harden, which is bound to happen.

Harden started doing this in part because his patented drives to the lane weren’t getting the foul calls he normally gets. It might not be pretty to watch, but when Harden puts his head down and runs in to defenders on his way to the basket, he puts the referees in a tough spot: either that is a foul every time Harden, or it’s never a foul. In this game, the refs let the teams play and Harden had to adjust his strategy.

To continue to stymie Harden, Thompson needs to cut off any driving lanes that open up for Harden before they even exist. When he sees an inch, that is when he attacks. If Harden is running a pick and roll with Josh Smith or Dwight Howard, the big guarding those two guys needs to slightly sag off his man to keep a hand or his body within distance of the paint, clogging it down.

Jan 21, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) controls the ball against Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) during the first quarter at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Another thing the Warriors can do — and tried for about one play before Smith made a wide open three — is to send another defender at Harden when he has the ball. To be effective, it needs to be an immediate trap. The play the Warriors did this, they sent Harrison Barnes at Harden too late and the trap was easily broken. But forcing Smith to shoot isn’t a bad thing, though he has shot decent since coming over to the Rockets, he generally has really poor shot selection. Lulling him in to taking jump shots is a win; even if some go in, it means the ball is out of Harden’s hands.

If the Warriors do trap, it needs to be done by anyone other than whoever is guarding Trevor Ariza, as he is the one consistent shooter the Rockets have that will make the Warriors pay for recovering after a trap. If Draymond Green is covering Smith, it might make the most sense to send him at Harden, but that means that whoever is playing the wing and Stephen Curry will have to help with rebounds if Green is taken out of the play.