Houston's destruction of San Antonio in Game 1 of these conference semifinals was every on-paper structural disadvantage for the Spurs come to life: no answer for James Harden in the pick-and-roll; big men that looked too slow and ground-bound to contain him; a punchless supporting cast for Kawhi Leonard; and a reluctance to play untested small-ball lineups that might be able to keep up with Harden's dizzying attack.

All of that was predictable to some extent, though Houston cannot expect every one of those factors to tilt so dramatically in its direction again.

One semi-surprising negative the Spurs can't afford: a total no-show on offense from LaMarcus Aldridge. Houston's coaches know Aldridge's pet moves on the left block, and they crafted a smart game plan that confused him:

Houston will live with turning fadeaways along the baseline; Ryan Anderson can handle those by himself, and he's an underrated post defender. Aldridge will have games when he makes a lot of those shots, though we haven't seen one in a while now. If that happens, Houston can send more help, or toggle the matchups so that Clint Capela or Nene guards him -- something they did now and then in Game 1.

Aldridge gets more dangerous when he taps his inner bully and backs Anderson down toward the restricted area. He has two comfort-food shots there: a right hook going toward the middle, and a counter up-and-under in which he fakes that hook, ducks back toward the baseline, and lays the ball in lefty.

Houston sat on both of those moves at once. They sandwiched Aldridge. Anderson played on Aldridge's left shoulder to almost a comical degree, blocking his path toward the middle. The natural response would be to turn back toward the baseline for that up-and-under, but the Rockets made sure someone was already there. Sometimes it was the guy defending David Lee on the opposite block -- a short help assignment that doesn't tax the other three defenders behind the play:

Sometimes it was Patrick Beverley, abandoning Tony Parker in the far corner:

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It is not a revolutionary strategy. The early- and mid-Duncan-era Spurs pioneered the technique of sneaking help defenders along the baseline to swipe at unsuspecting post brutes.

It appeared to spook Aldridge. Everywhere he turned, he saw black jerseys -- awesome black alternates, by the way -- and he sort of spun and faked himself into a panic before giving the ball up.

There is not a whole lot to do here. Aldridge knows how to hit the open man, and for the Spurs to win four of the next six games, Parker will have to hit a decent share of open jumpers. The Rockets are not going to guard him off the ball. Parker scored enough against Memphis, but Patrick Beverley's speed and tenacity overwhelmed him in Game 1. Parker could not shed Beverley. When Beverley went over picks, he stuck chest-to-chest with Parker. When he ducked under them, Beverley met Parker on the other side.

If Aldridge is more decisive, he can probably squeeze through gaps before the help wall snaps into place -- and thread jump hooks and layups through teensy crevices. He missed a couple of bunnies in Game 1. The Spurs might be able to move the other chess pieces around so Houston has a harder time sending help in the first place, but there are only so many places to put people -- especially extra bigs, and a point guard with a shaky jumper.

Aldridge's post game is a must-have weapon if the Spurs want to slow the pace and ensnare Houston in a crawl. They need him to prop up the offense when Leonard rests at the start of the second and fourth quarters. Those minutes have been ugly all season; opponents have blitzed the Spurs by 22 points in just the 44 minutes Aldridge has played without Leonard in the playoffs, per NBA.com. With Lou Williams and Eric Gordon scoring in bunches during those same minutes, the Spurs need points to survive.

Aldridge has to be better. If he's not, the Spurs will ask themselves hard questions in the offseason. They are not going to waste Leonard's prime. They have some grand ideas for how to reshape the team, but it will be hard to free up money to execute them without moving a significant salary somewhere.

It's too early for that conversation, though. These Spurs are too good, and they still have three home games on the docket. They are comfortable playing on the road. I can't wait to see how they come out tonight.

Some other things to watch in a borderline must-win:

• One thing that could get Aldridge going: more pick-and-rolls with Leonard. The Rockets trapped Leonard with their centers in Game 1, but they dropped Anderson back in a more conventional pick-and-roll scheme when the Spurs used his man (often Aldridge) as the screener. Trevor Ariza won't risk going under picks against Leonard the way Beverley will with Parker. The Rockets won't switch the Leonard-Aldridge pick-and-roll in most alignments, either.

That could leave Aldridge open for some pick-and-pop jumpers, and he missed a couple of good looks in Game 1:

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Those are usually money. If Aldridge gets rolling, the Rockets may send a third defender flying toward him, opening up easy kickout passes.

• The Spurs should keep moving Danny Green around. Harden doesn't have the attention span for it. He lost track of Green several times, and Green missed a bunch of open 3s.

One wrinkle that might be a Green original: cutting along the baseline to the strong side of a pick-and-roll -- usually a no-fly zone, since it clutters up driving lanes:

Green started doing that in the 2013 Finals against Miami. The Heat hadn't seen it before; they nicknamed it "the Danny Green cut." Erik Spoelstra stole it during Miami's first-round series against Charlotte last season, and it flummoxed the always-prepared Hornets.

It's a weird cut that muddies the usual weakside help assignments. Green needs to make Harden work on defense. Popovich needs to trust Green more. He has earned it over a half-decade now. Yanking him two minutes into the game for falling victim to the Harden Flail was a scolding fit for a January game against Sacramento -- and not the second round of the playoffs.

The Spurs aren't advancing without at least 25-plus good minutes from Green.

• I'm not sure the Spurs have a great answer to Harden's pick-and-roll game beyond "play better" and "change the players involved in defending it." Lee and Gasol are just too slow. If they ape Oklahoma City's strategy of hanging back toward the restricted area, Harden will finish over and around them -- or draw a heap of fouls. Come out further, and Harden clowns. Playing Lee and Gasol together, as Popovich did in the third quarter with Game 1 out of hand, is a death wish. 2017 NBA Opening Night On opening night, the Warriors were stunned in Oakland and the Celtics' high hopes took a tumble. • Irving: Hayward injury among worst

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Aldridge is better, but he spent about half his minutes in Game 1 defending Ariza -- an infrequent screening partner for Harden. The Spurs wanted wing players on Anderson so they could switch the Harden-Anderson combo without slotting a galoot onto Harden.

When Aldridge did guard Anderson, San Antonio often had him switch. That is not going to be the answer -- not with any of San Antonio's bigs. None of them can contain Harden. Their only hope is Harden settling for step-back 3s, and missing an unusual number of them.

I still think the Spurs should at least try juggling the assignments this way: Aldridge on Capela/Nene, a wing (Leonard, Green, Manu Ginobili, Jonathon Simmons) on Anderson, and their slow-poke centers on Ariza. Maybe that would fail, too. Harden would hunt Lee and Gasol by using Ariza in more pick-and-rolls, and Ariza played a lively Game 1. It's worth a shot, though.

A shockingly popular suggestion among coaches and scouts: go under screens on Harden, and dare him to shoot 3s. That way, no one else has to help. Shooters stay covered, and Houston's big men don't roll free to the hoop for lobs.

You can understand the theory: Harden shot just 34.7 percent on 3s, below the league average! He's at an icy 26 percent so far in the playoffs!

Count me as a skeptic. That 34.7 percent figure includes a metric ton of insanely difficult attempts -- contested step-backs, end-of-clock heaves, barftastic attempts to draw bogus fouls. Let Harden set his feet and get a clear view of the rim, and I'm betting he makes enough to neuter this strategy.

It's useful in small doses, especially when Houston is rushing up the court, and the defense has yet to gird itself for the coming assault. The Spurs will try it in those circumstances, and maybe others. Good luck.

Also worth a shot: more minutes for Dewayne Dedmon, perhaps even in the starting lineup, and more small ball with Leonard at power forward. You have to drag these Spurs into small ball. They don't really have the wing depth for it. But Houston pulled them there in the regular season more than any other team, and I would expect more than a couple of minutes of it tonight. Davis Bertans deserves more of a look.

Both moves would loosen San Antonio's spacing, and give Aldridge more room to work on the block.

• Keep an eye on Anderson crashing the offensive glass when the Spurs stick a wing on him. When a shot goes up, Anderson bulldozes in from the 3-point arc to chase boards. Houston has clearly given him carte blanche to do that against size mismatches.

• I liked when the Spurs had their guards and wings screen for each other early in possessions. It threw the Rockets off -- Houston is not the most communicative defense -- and drew some mismatches for Leonard. Anything to make Harden expend energy.