Jan 21, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) battles for the ball with guard Shaun Livingston (34) against Houston Rockets forward Trevor Ariza (1) during the second quarter at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
4. Golden State is more rested
James Harden led the league with 2981 minutes played and Trevor Ariza finished third with 2930 himself. They only missed one game between the two of them. They had a quick first round series, but the Warriors had a quicker one.
Houston had a seven game Semi-Final; the Warriors only had a six game one. Stephen Curry sat out nearly 20 fourth quarters this season and Steve Kerr managed the rest of his squad’s minutes perfectly down the stretch.
On the other side, Harden has been working twice as hard because of the injuries to Dwight Howard and many others on the team. He will eventually run out of gas and if the Warriors run the way they want to, it will be sooner rather than later.
Jan 21, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
3. The Warriors swept the Rockets in the regular season
Many people put no stock into regular season games. You can’t put a tremendous amount on it, but it still means something. The Warriors are confident that they cannot only beat the Rockets in Houston, but that they can beat them comfortably.
Sometimes, it can work out in the opposing team’s favor due to having a chip on their shoulder. However, the Warriors are simply too good and well coached to not be ready for anything that the Rockets will throw at them.
The Warriors won by double-digits in every match-up this season. Golden State has a chip on their shoulder, too. Harden told the Rockets in a pre-game huddle that the Warriors aren’t that good. That resulted in a season sweep. Houston, you have a problem and the Warriors are it.