• The Rockets are numbers people, led by general manager Daryl Morey, who went to Highland High School in Medina and then to M.I.T. Here's something I am sure Morey knew before the game as did his coaches and some players: In his career, LeBron was 40-of-114 shooting in the Toyota Center. In fact, the Rockets probably know that he shoots badly on the wing on the road and have plenty of data to back it up. So they especially made to leave him open out there. He has never shot well here. In his best game, the only time the Cavs won in his six seasons, he went 14-of-34. Not good.
So the Rockets game plan was to stay off him and let him shoot and guard everyone else. They felt the percentages were on their side. So they went under pick-and-rolls and in general, backed off. It was a percentage gamble and it worked perfectly. Also on defense, the had Luis Scola guard Zydrunas Ilgauskas so Yao could just stand in the paint and forget about Wallace or Andy Varejao. Sounds simple and with proper planning, it is. Cavs fell into the trap and didn't do much about it and had their worst offensive game of the season. LeBron could not take advantage of collapsing or double teams to get assists and the whole look seemed to unsettle him. Not every team has Yao, so it is unique, but not challenging him defensively is pretty much unacceptable, no?
