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The Houston Rockets went all in this regular season to get home court. The Golden State Warriors wrestled it back in Game 1 itself. Kevin Durant had 37 points and Klay Thompson added 28 as the defending champs rolled to victory in Game 1. James Harden had 41 points and Chris Paul scored 23 in a losing effort.
The Game started off as we'd have hoped, an epic back and forth encounter in the 1st half, but then the Warriors went up a notch. They went ahead for good in the 3rd quarter and pulled away in the 4th for a surprisingly comfortable win.
Here are the talking points:
#5 The Rockets supporting cast struggle
If the Rockets are to have a chance at upsetting the Warriors, the role players have to play much better. Harden balled out and CP3 had his moments but that evidently isn't going to be enough. Capela only had 12 Points and 6 Rebounds, PJ Tucker scored 1 point, while Ryan Anderson, Mbah A Moute and Nene went scoreless. Capela has garnered a lot of praise this season, which has led to talk of it being a Big 3 in Houston, not just Harden, and Paul, so he needs to step up. 12 Points and 6 Rebounds just won't cut it.
Eric Gordon finally seemed to get out of his shooting slump in the 2nd half, which would please Mike D'Antoni. Gordon finished with 15 points off the bench in what was the only noteworthy performance by any of the complementary pieces. It's a pity that they wasted that incredible performance from Harden.
#4 Rockets defense gets picked apart
Oh yeah!
We need to have a conversation about that improved Houston defense supposedly giving them a good chance at beating the Warriors. The Golden State offense basically had their way against the Rockets, shooting 54.8% at the half. They slowed down in the 2nd, but still ended up shooting 52.5% for the game.
They also managed to shoot almost 40% from beyond the arc. If the Rockets defense doesn't get better, this series might be over in a hurry. Sure, the point can be made that KD just went bonkers and that won't happen again, but Curry had a relatively quiet game and that probably isn't happening again either.
The Warriors, on the other hand, were their usual solid self on defense, led by Draymond Green who had another excellent game on defense. Their only concern from a defensive standpoint would be Curry getting torched by pretty much everyone on the Rockets, especially Harden. Curry often found himself switched on Harden and the Beard had his way with him. They'll have to do a better job of hiding him on defense.
#3 James Harden balls out
The Beard was almost unstoppable in this one. Harden finished with 41 Points on 58.3% shooting and 7 Assists, the 3rd series in a row in which he's had 40+ in Game 1. He had it going from the start, drilling 3s and getting to the basket at will. He especially went after Curry, whose lack of defense might well be the only area the Rockets can exploit against Golden State. Not even a hit to the midsection in the 1st quarter could slow him down. Harden went out of the game for a while but still ended up with 24 points at the half.
He did slow down just a little bit in the 2nd half, but that was expected. He was having to shoulder both the scoring and playmaking role for the Rockets and to top it off, was guarding Durant for stretches in the game. It's too much responsibility on one guy, especially someone like Harden who expends a lot of energy dribbling on offense. They'll probably have to switch things around a bit for Game 2.
#2 Kevin Durant was sensational
When Durant has it going as he did in this one, there is nothing anyone can do to stop him. KD went bonkers, scoring at will, regardless of who was guarding him, whether it be Harden, Paul, Capela or Ariza. He had 17 in the 1st half and 13 in the 3rd quarter, as he helped the Warriors go ahead for good in the 2nd half. KD scored with an array of mid-range jumpers, either by posting up or with his trademarks pull-ups. Houston had no answer for his onslaught in the 3rd quarter and then it was Klay's turn in the 4th.
Thompson had 28 in the Game and 11 in the 4th quarter, hitting some timely 3 pointers as the Rockets threatened to come back in the Game. They both had to step up, with Steph Curry having just an Okay night. That is the worrying part for Houston however. Harden has an incredible game, Paul was good and Curry was average and yet Golden State win on the road.
#1 Game 2 is now a must-win for Houston
It is kind of obvious, but boy has the significance of Game 2 gone off the charts for Houston. Win and they stay alive in this series but lose and it's over. Beating Golden State 4 out of 7 times is tough enough, but should that become 4 out of 5, with 3 games in Golden State, then it's damn near impossible. They worked ever so hard to get home court advantage in these playoffs, winning a franchise record 65 games but it's all been snatched away pretty easily by Golden State.
They'd lost home court advantage in the semi-finals as well, when they lost Game 2, but fought back and won both Game 3 and 4 in Utah. It is going to be a much tougher task to win even 1 game in Golden State and should they lose Game 2, an incredible 65 win season will go to waste.
