Gregg Popovich vs. James Harden Is Saving the NBA Playoffs

Game 5 of the Western Conference Semifinals between the Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night was the most dramatic, meaningful, and strategically riveting duel of the 2017 NBA playoffs.

The Spurs gutted out a win in overtime sans Kawhi Leonard, who injured his ankle in the third quarter and did not play the final 5:34. San Antonio only spent about 19 minutes with two bigs on the floor. And rookie point guard Dejounte Murray—who started Games 3 and 4—never even stepped on the court. Meanwhile, the Rockets only used seven players, launched 48 threes, and, thanks to Nene's absence, defaulted back to a small starting lineup from the jump—their born identity—by sending Ryan Anderson to the bench in favor of Eric Gordon.

Both coaches treated Game 5 like it was Game 7, which resulted in the most interesting chess match we may witness this entire postseason: Gregg Popovich vs. James Harden.

The Spurs spent the first four games of this series guarding Harden in a variety of ways. They switched, hedged, and trapped ball screens. They instructed the screener's defender to sag back around the elbow, with Leonard, Danny Green, and Jonathon Simmons all assigned to trail Harden as best they can.

In Game 5, Popovich threw the kitchen sink at the MVP candidate: All the above strategies forced Harden into becoming a one-dimensional avalanche during one stint, and then a calculated playmaker during another. For long stretches, particularly in the first half and fourth quarter, San Antonio's defense baited Harden to score on taxing drives and step-back threes. Rim protection was cast aside.

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Harden responded by gift-wrapping 23 points, five assists, and eight rebounds in the first two quarters. He took 13 shots with an absurd 44 percent usage, and accounted for 62 percent of Houston's assists. Monster. Popovich's plan either wasn't working, or needed a larger sample size to allow some regression. The Rockets scored 60 points in the first half.

But the Spurs acclimatized from the start. When Mike D'Antoni inserted Anderson at the five a few minutes into the game, Popovich immediately countered with Simmons for Pau Gasol. Soon after, he replaced LaMarcus Aldridge with David Lee and Patty Mills with Manu Ginobili.

Tony Parker's offensive creation is crucial for San Antonio, but his absence motivated Popovich to deploy units without a point guard; those like-sized, switch-happy lineups are designed to restrict Houston's ability to bomb the Spurs out of existence.

Even though the Rockets launched the second-most threes in NBA playoff history, 15 of them were from Harden, and 18 were off the dribble. Normally, small lineups allow teams to scramble a bit more on the defensive end. They can cover more ground on the weakside if two guys trap the ball, and dart in and back from the corner to tag rolling big men.

But San Antonio's primary defensive goal when small was to stay home on Houston's shooters and force Harden to beat them by himself. To do so, particularly in instances where they dropped the screener's man or switched a big up high, the Spurs positioned help defenders in spots where they could take away Harden's driving lanes and muck up the three-point line.

In theory it sounds nice. The realistic downside, however, is almost like setting off fireworks in your living room and hoping it doesn't catch on fire. Harden's first half was incredible, and Popovich answered in the third quarter by dramatically altering San Antonio's coverage to disrupt Houston's offensive rhythm.

They put two on the ball and made Harden pass, kindly inviting Trevor Ariza, Gordon, and Patrick Beverley to beat them from outside. After he owned the paint in the first half, going 5-for-5 in the restricted area, Harden shot 1-for-2 at the rim in the second half. His three shots in overtime were all missed threes.

Some of this is due to Popovich's tactical adjustments at halftime, and some of it's because Harden is a human being who has to carry an enormous offensive load in just about every possession. He wore himself out, and it's easy to understand why: Harden finished with 99 touches and drove to the hoop an absurd 19 times (from which he walked away with just three assists).

Harden still finished with 33 points, 10, rebounds, and 10 assists. But his mistakes were just as significant as those gaudy numbers, particularly down the stretch. He turned the ball over nine times in nearly 44 minutes, with four coming in the final five minutes of regulation and overtime.

It may be a slight stretch, but even when dumping the ball into Aldridge or Gasol didn't feel like the most efficient offensive strategy, the Spurs stubbornly punched those buttons every time Harden was on their hip. It might not have been Popovich's objective, but any sequence that saps Harden's energy is a convenient side effect the Spurs will happily take.

Harden isn't a bad post defender—he's actually quite good—but with Nene out and Anderson or Clint Capela hugged onto San Antonio's other big, the opportunity to make him work on defense was there for the taking. So the Spurs took it.

Harden was mentally and physically fatigued when the game was on the line. With just under two minutes to go and the Rockets nursing a two-point lead, Harden came off a high screen, noticed Aldridge was a few steps higher than normal, and attacked the lane. Nearing the restricted area, with Aldridge half a step behind and to his right, Green completely abandoned Beverley in the strong side corner to meet Harden at the rim. Not expecting the help, Harden changed his mind in mid air, and flipped a pass off target towards the corner. Beverley barely caught it, but eventually stepped out of bounds. A few seconds later, Aldridge tied the game with a left-handed hook over Gordon.

That snapshot didn't decide the game, but it does provide a little insight into how confusing Popovich made Harden's life down the stretch—sort of like a post defender who pulls the chair.

Throughout the game, proverbial punches flew. But instead of one side sticking to their gut and riding out a playing style that may not be logical in this specific environment, the Spurs implemented season-saving adjustments. Popovich adapted on the fly and showed everyone why he's a great coach.

That said, it's healthy to keep in mind that had the Rockets made one or two more of the open threes San Antonio afforded them, they easily could've won the game. There are more factors that go into any final score than simply how a defense covers one player.

Popovich will throw more flurries at Harden in Game 6, and, being that he's one of the most productive offensive generators of his time, Harden will feast on mistakes and look to force his will once again. Nobody's a genius. Nobody's a failure. There are only survivors who live on thanks to having a little more luck than their opponent when it matters most.