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NBA PLAYOFFS ROUND ONE: ROCKETS vs WARRIORS

April 16, 2016

J.B. Bickerstaff

Oakland, California: Game One

Warriors -104, Rockets - 78

Q. Offensively, how did it come apart so badly in the first?
J.B. BICKERSTAFF: One of their strengths is versatility, they do a lot of switching, and they have like-sized guys in multiple positions. We didn't do a good enough job making them pay. When they switched, we have to move more, instead we moved less, which made us easier to guard.

Again, they had ten eyes on the ball handler. We didn't put enough pressure on them and move them around so that our players could penetrate and make plays for other people. This can't be a one-sided game defensively. To move there's got to be early action, early attacks. They're too good defensively.

Q. James usually gets a lot of drives to the basket and a lot of free throws. He had zero in this game. What happened there do you think?
J.B. BICKERSTAFF: They're setting up to stop him from dragging right now. They do a good job. Their four men just flood the paint on his penetration. They put two and three guys on him. But, again, that's a product of us not moving. If we're moving guys around, putting guys in different spots, they're worried about guarding different action and that's going to open up the lane for them. But if we do things earlier in the clock, we have more thrust once we defensive rebound, those gaps will be there. So we have to do more of those things.

Q. That was a physical game, even chippy at times. Was that a point of emphasis for you guys coming in?
J.B. BICKERSTAFF: I mean, it's the playoffs. The games are going to be physical. We don't mind playing physical. We don't mind the other team playing physical. The game shouldn't be dirty by any means, I don't think the other side will do that, but there is nothing wrong with playing physical.

Q. What did you guys do differently in the third to get James going a little bit?
J.B. BICKERSTAFF: We pushed it more. We ran more. We went with the lineup where he was having the ball as the point guard in that situation. The pick-and-roll was good. We've got four smalls spaced around him. He was able to get downhill. We set screens higher on the floor for him and it opened up driving lanes where it was one-on-one where it was him and (No Microphone).

Q. What is the thought process in the lineup change?
J.B. BICKERSTAFF: When we played them up here last year or last game we played them, we played small. Defensively we thought it gave us more versatility to switch things. Games we've watched, the way we've studied it, the teams that have had success versus defensively weren't chasing them all over the floor. They just checked him in front of them. So we went that way. The last time we played them it was a tight game going into the fourth quarter, so we thought we'd have some success there.

Q. Coming over the skirmish between Steph and Patrick Beverley in the first quarter seemed to energize Steph and perhaps threw Beverley a little bit off. I think he ended up with quite a few fouls and sitting on the bench a lot. Did you read it that way? Did that concern you that if you get Steph even more motivated that he's going to make you pay for it?
J.B. BICKERSTAFF: I mean, I don't think we can get him more motivated. I think he's motivated as it is. He's hungry, thirsty for a championship. So that's all they're thinking about. So he's going to do whatever it takes to get his, no matter what. I don't think -- the foul trouble came because I thought we were being aggressive. I didn't think any of Pat's fouls came because he was frustrated but because he was trying to get to the ball and that's the way we want him to play.

Q. (No Microphone)?
J.B. BICKERSTAFF: You have to be physical period. If you're going to defend anyone, if you're going to stop anyone, you've got to be physical. All the great defenses are. There's never been a good (Indiscernible) defense.

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