Legendary Syracuse zone guru Jim Boeheim explains why Rockets’ system is ‘game changer’ vs. Warriors

HOUSTON If the - zone that is in the present stifling the Warriors in the first round of the playoffs looks slightly familiar to college hoops fans there is a good reason for that The Houston Rockets are running a modified version of the defense that legendary former Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim perfected over years and victories at the basketball powerhouse Boeheim is not surprised that it has been as effective in the pros as it is in the college ranks I think it s good as a different look a meeting changer just to change the rhythm for teams Boeheim narrated the Bay Area News Group by phone before Sunday s Competition Hundreds if not thousands of coaches have used that alignment with two perimeter defenders in front of three teammates arranged in a flat line behind over the discipline of history But nobody is more associated with that style than Boeheim who has literally written the book on how to run it It can be really effective in the NBA because they re not used to seeing that and a lot of their plays that aren t out-of-bounds plays are man-to-man plays Boeheim revealed I think it s a good move and I think it can work but a few coaches that try it when the group hits one shot they get right out of it and don t have the mentality to stick with it The Rockets are sticking with it for good reason The Warriors are trudging back to Houston for Competition after their - series lead evaporated Golden State s consecutive losses in the past two games have a great number of culprits but the Rockets - zone is the most of glaring When the Rockets run out their double- and sometimes triple-big lineup with a combination of Steven Adams Alperen Sengun and Jabari Smith Jr the Warriors free-flowing offense has ground to a halt Houston is not running a traditional Syracuse-style zone Instead it mans up on the perimeter especially against Steph Curry while allowing the low defenders to float You can focus with your zone on Curry Boeheim explained Yes you re going to play zone but you re unfailingly going to be guarding him Houston Rockets Fred VanVleet prepares to step on the shoe of the Golden State Warriors Stephen Curry in the nd quarter of Contest of the Western Conference First Round NBA Playoffs contest at Chase Center in San Francisco Calif on Friday May Karl Mondon Bay Area News Group The zone s long-standing strength is not burdening defenders with a singular off-ball responsibility When it works well it often leads to long possessions which is fine with the -second shot clock in college but is more of an issue in the NBA event Cutters don t bother a zone that much Boeheim stated It s more about ball movement and screening And people forget seconds is not a lot of time A lot of teams took more than seconds to tally on us Of unit no defense is perfect and there are holes in the - zone for the Warriors to exploit Getting the ball to a scorer in the mid-post is one option and running shooters off screens is another The organization can try to screen for the three for the best shooter of all time and you can t let that happen Boeheim reported You have to get over the top of it or the forward can t come up and he gets that shot But do the Warriors have the personnel to crack the zone if Curry is bottled up Shooting well is the classic way to break the zone but the Rockets have shown that the Warriors do not have the consistent snipers needed to get Houston to go back to man-to-man Related Articles Kurtenbach The Warriors say they re excited about Championship Don t believe them Rockets Steven Adams has turned dirty work into an art form vs Warriors What Jonathan Kuminga could bring to Warriors in Event How to watch Warriors-Rockets Contest Kurtenbach Those once-reasonable Warriors title hopes They re lost baggage now The Warriors shot of in non-Curry -point attempts in Contest Gary Payton II was often left wide open in the corner Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler are phenomenal players but are not long-range marksmen You don t want him to get going you want somebody else to Boeheim disclosed Every unit has one or two bad shooters and you just don t guard those guys The Warriors know this and have spent the past sparse days trying to devise a countermeasure to the Rockets defense But just a limited hours after Tournament Curry already knew what the Warriors needed to do against the defense that Boeheim had made famous You have to resist the temptation to rush and force shots Curry revealed Use the attention they re going to throw at us whether it s me running around or Jimmy driving it to make the defense collapse and swing and find open looks Head coach Jim Boeheim of the Syracuse Orange reacts during the first half against the Michigan State Spartans in the second round of the NCAA Men s Basketball Tournament at Little Caesars Arena on March in Detroit Michigan Photo by Elsa Getty Images