The Golden State Warriors introduced the idea of switching everything on defense to the NBA in 2015. Before the Dubs, switching was viewed as a “weak” form of defense that was only done at the end of games. However, Steve Kerr and Co. become a juggernaut with that tactic. In response, the Houston Rockets also started switching on defense in 2017. In addition, Houston oriented their entire offense towards beating switching.

So while it's understandable that the young, 2021 Rockets struggled to attack the Celtics switching on Sunday night, it's the NBA's latest example of irony.

“Their switching hurt us today as a result of never having seen that kind of switching before,” Coach Stephen Silas said after the loss. “We have guys out there who really just haven't played against it like that and that kind of bogged us down a little bit.”

The reason switching everything on defense can be so effective is because it forces turnovers and isolation basketball. The Rockets are already a team that's prone to turnovers because of their youth and the Celtics took advantage of it, scoring 28 points on a forced 18 turnovers.

“Part of it is going to be the experience of going against switching over and over again,” Silas said on the turnovers. “We've drilled against switching and drilled our counters, but you don't really get it until you're in it, you know? So I would attribute a lot of [the turnovers] to their switching and our inability to get to our counters against it.”

The Rockets want to run an offense with a lot of ball and player movement. Switching is tailor-made to prevent teams from doing that, and it's why every Rockets-Warriors series this past decade devolved into an isolation-fest. It's not as if Houston didn't know Boston was going to switch on defense. Silas readied the team on how to attack it, but they were still frazzled when they saw it in action.

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“Our angles on our screens could've been better tonight,” said forward Jae'Sean Tate after the game. “That was an emphasis going into the game. We knew that they were a switching team. I think we're going to continue to see that throughout the year.”

Before departing for Dallas on Monday, the Rockets spent practice going over film of the game and how to attack switches again. This entire year will be an exercise in learning from mistakes for Houston, and the coaching staff has been pretty patient about having to re-teach things.

“Usually when you're switching, there's a worst defender and you can kind of pick and choose who you want [to attack as an offense],” added Silas. “With the group they had on the floor last night, we're picking Marcus Smart or Al Horford. It was tough, because they have five guys on the floor who can switch, defend their guy, and contain the ball. And they're all smart and they've done it for a long time.”

As Silas alluded to, switching on Boston's level requires years of NBA experience and know-how. This is part of the reason Houston chose to go with a traditional defensive scheme this season. In addition to not having the most mobile big men, it'll take some time before everyone can read and react to offenses like the Celtics can.

“That's what we want to be,” Silas furthered. “A team that's super smart who can switch, bump out, and get guys to the weakside like it's natural and easy. And that'll come. It'll come with time.”

In the meantime, the Celtics aren't the last team the Rockets will have to face this season that switches. The Milwaukee Bucks, San Antonio Spurs, Miami Heat, Toronto Raptors, Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Clippers all switch on defense to some degree. That means going over film now isn't just learning for the sake of learning. They'll have to know their offensive counters to switching before they face these teams.

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“You just have to be intentional about getting the ball from one side to the other,” Silas explained. “And there were a lot of possessions where the ball stayed on one side. Sometimes it's going to have to be a multiple pick and roll possession for us to get a good look. On the first pick and roll, they'll switch it. If we move it, they're going to have to negotiate another switch and then maybe something opens up for us. But trying to isolate against those guys or trying to get in the mid-post for post-ups, it's not an advantage. And you're always looking for advantages offensively.”