OAKLAND – With the Warriors falling into a 2-2 series tie with the Rockets, the worriers are chewing nails, with many fixated on reigning MVP James Harden, who is controlling the ball, making crucial shots for the Rockets and averaging 35.7 points.
Others have taken note of Eric Gordon’s two-dimensional act, one in which he gathers his cuboid physique and blasts it toward the rim for layups and the other in which he pulls up for 3-pointers that have resulted in an average of 23 points per game.
PJ Tucker is last on the list. Maybe he should be first.
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Whereas Patrick Beverley was an annoyance to the Warriors in the first-round against the Clippers, Tucker is an outright menace. He is Beverley in a body builder’s frame, without the excess chatter.
When the Rockets go small, and they are at an increasing rate, Tucker is their 6-foot-5, 245-pound center. What he lacks in height, he makes up for in fight. And width.
For all the production of Harden and Gordon – Chris Paul and Clint Capela haven’t inflicted much damage – it is Tucker’s relentless engine that has driven Houston back into the Western Conference semifinal series, which resumes Wednesday with Game 5 at Oracle Arena. He makes his teammates better in the simplest of ways. He plays harder than anybody else.
Tucker is his team’s life force in much the same way Draymond Green is that for the Warriors. Other names are on the marquee, but these two specialize chasing victory by any means necessary. As Green has done many times before, Tucker lifts his teammates to higher levels by setting the standard for effort.
Golden State Warriors
He also contributed nice statistics in Game 4, with 17 points, 10 rebounds – five on offense – three assists, two steals and a block. He was a team-high plus-11 over 42 minutes.
“We’ve got to find him early,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “He sneaks behind us defensively when the shot goes up and he’s getting a lot of offensive rebounds. The way you have to handle that is find him early. When the shot goes up, whoever is closest to him has to get a body on him. He’s obviously a strong guy. But we can do a good job. We did a good job the first two games. We’ve got to get better with that tomorrow.”
Expect the Warriors, on defense, to be acutely aware of Tucker’s presence. But becoming too concerned with him, particularly when he’s at center and surrounded by shooters, means there’s a good chance one of his teammates standing around the arc will get an open look.
With the way the Rockets shoot the 3-ball, especially at home, that could be trouble.
Houston is at its best when they see activity lead to production. That’s what happened in Games 3 and 4. Tucker put his signature on both games by doing the kind of dirty work that is far more inspirational than the scoring of Harden or Gordon.
If the Warriors can’t somehow diminish Tucker’s flame, what is becoming a street fight will turn into a crisis the likes of which their historic five-season run has never experienced.
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Green seems to understand that and he, perhaps more than anyone on his team or rooting for his team, can appreciate what Tucker did in Houston. Which is why he sounded as if he fully realizes what he has to do for the Warriors in Oakland.
Can’t let them get Tuckered again.
“I know we’ll change that,” he said. “And it starts with me.”
The Warriors want to lower Harden’s shooting efficiency. They want to keep Gordon from torching them with layups and triples. Priority One, though, ought to be limiting Tucker’s impact, because that’s bound to affect Harden, Gordon and the rest of his teammates.