Houston Rockets guard Chris Paul isn't taking any learning experiences from a season-high streak-snapping loss to the Golden State Warriors, even after the defending champions showed new wrinkles to their strategy against them by using big man DeMarcus Cousins.
The Warriors' summer addition was dominant, putting up a season-high 27 points on 11-of-16 shooting from the floor in an effective 32 minutes on the court. Paul however, was unimpressed.
“We didn't learn nothing that we didn't already know,” said Paul, according to ESPN's Tim MacMahon. “We done played them enough times where they know us, and we know them.”
The Rockets still dominated the season series 3-1, but teammate Austin Rivers had a slightly different viewpoint on the matter.
“They're still the team to beat,” Rivers said, according to The Associated Press. “No matter how many times one beats them in the regular season, they're still the champs, and nobody knocks them off until you knock them off. Tonight was definitely a good learning lesson for us, and we will definitely learn from it.”
Golden State's utilization of Cousins was a complete game-changer, given that Houston's aggressive closeouts on the likes of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson didn't do much to deter this team, even without Kevin Durant in the lineup.
The big man was a load in the paint and often found shooters open in the perimeter, a dimension the Rockets weren't used to account for in past games throughout this season.
The loss might just serve as enough experience if these teams see each other during the postseason, though the series could bring plenty of new wrinkles for both teams to adapt to.
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