Rockets-Warriors showdown has long seemed inevitable
Western Conference’s top teams expected to face one another
The buildup for this series truly began in February, with some pointed comments from Golden State’s Draymond Green.
Or in October, when Houston won at Golden State on ring night.
Or in June, when the Rockets landed Chris Paul.
Whenever it started, however it started, it’s clear that this is the series that the NBAwatching world wanted. Western Conference finals, Golden State versus Houston, Game 1 on Monday on the Rockets’ home floor. Series winner to the NBA Finals, series loser will undoubtedly feel like they let a championship ring slip away.
“They got us. We got them,” Green said. “Got to go out there and play. We’ll see who’s better.”
After more than 10 months of playing, posturing and some pontificating, it really is that simple.
This Rockets team was assembled — the key being the trade for Paul last summer — with hopes of unseating the reigning champion Warriors from their perch atop the NBA. So far, so good. Houston set a franchise record with 65 wins in the regular season, went 2-1 against the Warriors in games that were hyped at the time though seem meaningless now, and has the likely MVP in James Harden.
But how this Houston season will be remembered hinges largely on the outcome of this series.
“Everybody at the beginning of the year thinks they’ve got a chance to be here,” Houston’s P.J. Tucker said. “Everybody talks about winning. Everybody talks about fighting for a championship. … We really believed it. We’re really fighting to get there. This is not a game. Everybody takes their job serious.”
He’s right on all counts, particularly on the talking.
And the talking will most definitely continue over the next few days. With five full off days between the Warriors’ and Rockets’ respective secondround clinchers on Tuesday and Game 1 of their series, a lot of people will be saying a lot of somethings.
“I think it’s going to be a great series,” said New Orleans coach Alvin Gentry, whose Pelicans fell in five games to the Warriors in the West semifinals. “I think it will be very entertaining. I’m looking forward to it.” He’s hardly alone. For as great as LeBron James has been, again, the West matchup is going to overshadow the East finals between Cleveland and either Boston or Philadelphia. That’s no disrespect to the East; that’s just reality given the seasons that the Warriors and Rockets have had, and the collision course that seemed so inevitable for either to avoid.
“The whole world’s been waiting for this matchup,” Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal said in his role as an analyst Tuesday night on TNT.
The three Warriors-Rockets games were about as anticipated as any in the regular season: Golden State lost two of the three, and the final combined score of those matchups was Warriors 353, Rockets 352.
“That was so long ago,” Warriors forward Kevin Durant said. “I think both teams are different and playing better. So you know, I try not to look at those games but we kind of know, they know what we do and we know what they do.”
It’s the second time in four years that Houston and Golden State have met in the West finals; the Warriors ousted the Rockets in five games in 2015 on their way to the NBA title. Golden State was the No. 1 seed that year, Houston was No. 2. The seeds are flipped this time, after Houston finished with the league’s best record.
This is the first time since 2014 — a span of 15 series — where Golden State will have to play Game 1 on the road.
“Every series you play, it gets harder and harder and harder,” said Warriors guard Stephen Curry, who is seeking a fourth straight trip to the NBA Finals and third ring in four years. “So following that trend for sure.”
Notes
CASEY HONORED: Toronto Raptors coach Dwane Casey was announced Wednesday as the coach-of-the-year selection by the National Basketball Coaches Association. The award, named for longtime NBCA executive director Michael H. Goldberg, is voted on only by the league’s head coaches. Casey won after a season in which Toronto went a franchise-best 59-23 and finished with the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, before getting swept by Cleveland in the second round of the playoffs.
THUNDER: Oklahoma City forward Paul George had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee Wednesday. George is expected to returning to normal offseason activities in six to eight weeks.