Rockets threaten the Golden Bridge
The final of the NBA has advanced a lot, even before the scheduled date for the Eastern Conference champion to face the West ones. The Golden State Warriors and the Rockets of Houston, undoubtedly the best teams of the current season, facing each other from this Monday, May 14th. Any of both teams can win the national title, the other franchises have been far below the interstellar shape in which the Rockets and the Warriors have been played, although the Cavaliers should not be discarded, for whom their leader Lebron James has become a true crusader who wants another crown.
The Golden State during 4 seasons straight has been an outstanding team. The talent of Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson plus Daymond Green has made of the team a real hurricane. These Warriors had no mercy with the inspired Pelicans that defeated the Trail Blazers without complications. But it was known that with the adding of the most far-reaching warrior, Stephen Curry, the birds of New Orleans were going to be left without wings. And so it was: 4-1 finished the series with a disconcerting performance of the Warriors who keep on showing they have a cohesive and consolidated team.
However, the Warriors fans have many doubts and fear the team is not fully recovered, especially when the Rocket can dynamite the golden bridge and the path of the warriors to the crown to be completely destroyed.
This year the Rockets finished in the first place of the Conference and also have turned James "The Beard" Harden on. Both from the court’s painted line as from the three-point one, The Beard has become the worst nightmare of the contrary team. Nevertheless, pivot Chris Paul knows the game very well and how to get out of each passing ball a layup for his team. In addition, the Rockets got to the playoffs well inspired, since in the particular series of both teams they were fierce with the guys from the bay and defeated them twice. Furthermore, the Rockets will have their best arsenal to take revenge since in 2015 the Warriors stopped their attacks and won a playoff that led the Golden ones to the final.
Yet, Houston’s guys have a serious problem that in at the same time becomes its strength. While on one hand they have the scores from the 3-point line as their most powerful missile, the Rockets have used too much the strategy of passing balls precisely to the men with the best telescopic sight for the 3-point throw. The Rockets score 15.5 triples per game (the team with best results), with 36.4% of accuracy (the 12th team in the league).
It is true that defending from the Rockets' bombings is very difficult, especially because they open up a lot the space to play to make a better game. Facing the Warriors will not change this play style, more when the Warriors allow the triples to their rivals with a 35.8% of success, a too discreet number. However, in assists, Steven Kerr’s boys have 30.5% per game while the Rockets have 21.7%.
The Rockets’ game begins with individual plays by Paul or Harden, who end the play or double-pass the ball for an open shot. This predictable style is surprisingly effective but is unlikely to work at the same level for several games against such an outstanding series of outside defenders as Thompson, Iguodala, McCaw or Livingston. Presumably, Warriors’s defensive players will block the main scorers from the three-point line. If do so, Texas’ team attacks would be very limited.
The Warriors will appeal to their speed and distribution of the ball to take the lead against the Rockets. The Golden State boys are the most scorers in the NBA thanks to their dynamic game. In addition and to the Rockets' sadness, Stephen Curry is showing off and showing that he is "intact", so from the short, medium and long distance will give a hard game to the Rockets.
The match to take place at the Toyota Center in Houston will give the Texans the advantage of what will undoubtedly be one of the best shows of these playoffs. Both have very similar numbers, The Warriors in scoring have 116.1 points per game, followed by the Rockets with 113.8 points, while in the annotations by possession of ball the Californian Warriors surpass the Rockets, 114,1 points by 113,3 of the Texans.
One of the two will inevitably fall in this contest, but either on the Golden Bridge in California or at the Rocket Base in Houston the best NBA’s stars will shine.