 The times are a change in. We hear this in life every day, mainly because it's true, but it applies to the game of professional basketball now more than ever. Don't believe me? Well... I think once teams figured out ways to just try to open the game up, you know, and create opportunities for guys that can slash, then that means you have to have some shooting. And now basically most teams play with five guys out where it's just hard to guard. The fives are bringing a ball up, shooting threes. And it's been fun to watch, obviously, the evolution of the game the last 20 years. Defense, you have to be willing to adapt. I mean, you look at Toronto, you know, you look in one quarter, they might throw out a 2-3 or a 1-3-1 and then go back to a man, you know? So it's just, it's crazy to see the game evolve, but you definitely have to adapt with it. It's not a secret. Everybody knows it. The NBA is infamously known as a copycat league. And that's because if you can't beat them, you join them. But here's the thing, despite this being well-known, teams still refuse to adapt when it matters the most. This isn't meant to be a subtweet. I'm more than happy to say their names out loud because I'm looking directly at the Houston Rockets and Milwaukee Bucks. The Rockets had the league's top-rated defense in the bubble, first in almost every major statistic and advanced analytic. The Bucks had the NBA's number one defensive rating during the entire regular season. Before the playoffs started, these teams ranked number one and number two respectively in points scored per game. On paper, there was not a single hole in the armor, historic efficiency, revolutionary offense and star power for as far as the eye could see. It was the perfect championship formula. However, the regular season triumphs have been a double-edged sword for these franchises as what they have proved to be so successful simply does not translate to playoff basketball. A completely different sport, which involves slower, grittier, half-court grind at both ends of the floor. Before the postseason started, their two offenses were Lamborghinis driving on the autobahn, not a speed limit or any resemblance of traffic in sight. But the moment a pothole appears, everything that makes the Lambo so desirable suddenly becomes its biggest burden. By refusing to pivot from their five out zero in business model which entailed everybody standing around and watching while their superstar attempted to create something alone, it allowed their opponents to react instead of respond. The Rockets wanted you to be okay with them going small. They traded away the next five years of the franchise and they're only centered to prove just how right they were. They wanted to chuck threes. They averaged 51 of them per game in the series against the Thunder. The Lakers responded by reducing that number to 38.8 through four games, outscoring the Rockets by 38 points in the paint in game four, which tied the second largest paint point differential in a playoff game over the last 20 years. And ultimately their head coach wearing their changed game plan like a sign around his neck after the game. Peter. Yeah, coach, 33 three point attempts for the Rockets tonight. I think 30 the last game. How key is that stat for you guys to keep them that low? That's way lower than they typically are. We want to make their ISOs as difficult as possible without giving up the threes. There is a reason why the first two games the Rockets lost in the bubble while shooting better than 40% from three was in this series. Then you have Mike Budenholzer hurling Yana Santana Kumbo into the Miami Heat's firewall defense like he's paid on commission by the attempt. It was like watching basketball's version of sideshow Bob walking around, stepping on all those rakes until it finally killed them. While Bud's standing in the bridge house as water encircles the sinking ship is certainly commendable, they don't hang championship banners for stubbornness. Just because your former boss Greg Popovich once said, I think overall the number of adjustments made in a series is overrated doesn't mean this is religion. The game is consistently evolving and what works on a Wednesday night against the Knicks doesn't mean it should be religion in the playoffs either because the last time I checked they don't play basketball with calculators. Legendary UCLA Bruins head coach John Wooden once said, failure is not fatal but failure to change might be. And for the Rockets, Bucks and every other team in the future who is certain that their system cannot be beaten let this playoffs be a reminder that your system isn't perfect but it can be one game at a time.