Warriors gear up for third title in four seasons

It’s going to be a fight, Capela of Boston Rockets says

Defending NBA champion Golden State, seeking a third title in four seasons, face season wins leaders Houston in a tantalising play-off showdown between a powerhouse Warriors squad and a Rockets team assembled to beat it.

“I like where we are. Our guys have rings. That’s a good position to be in,” said Golden State coach Steve Kerr, whose Warriors open the best-ofseven Western Conference finals at Houston on Monday in search of a fourth straight trip to the NBA Finals.

“We’re going in here knowing we’re the defending champs, knowing we got a couple championships here the last few years. Let’s go get another one. It’s a nice feeling to have to go into a series with.”

The Rockets, sparked by NBA scoring champion James Harden, were 2-1 against Golden State in the regular season and went a league-best 65-17 overall, seizing a home-court advantage in the series.

After being ousted from the play-offs by the San Antonio Spurs in three of the past four seasons, the Rockets added star guard Chris Paul and 3-point threat P.J. Tucker to join Trevor Ariza, then watched Swiss big man Clint Capela enjoy a career-best season with 13.9 points and 10.8 rebounds a game.

“It’s going to be a fight,” Capela said. “This team is going to be hard. There are going to be a lot of adjustments after every game. It’s going to be a chess game.”

The clash between the two offensively explosive teams has been anticipated since the start of the season.

“You wanted us. You got us. Now you’ve got to play the game,” said outspoken Golden State forward Draymond Green. “Their team is built to beat us, their obsession. Obviously you want to build your team to beat the defending champs because that’s usually how you’ve got to go to get a championship. Understandable. That stuff has been said for about a year now. It’s time to play.”