May 27, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Andre Iguodala (9) lays injured during the fourth quarter against the Houston Rockets in game five of the Western Conference Finals of the NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
The Warriors took care of the Houston Rockets in five games. Now, the Warriors have to worry about the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Rockets head to the off-season.
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The Rockets will need to regroup and try to add some more talent in the off-season. Houston lacked depth and that’s a reason why they could not keep up with the Warriors in the Western Conference Finals.
One player that the Rockets can count on is Dwight Howard, especially if he plays like he did in Game 5. Unfortunately, Houston will have to start the 2015-16 season without their franchise big man. The NBA announced that Howard’s personal foul on Andre Iguodala was upgraded to a flagrant 1 and Howard will be suspended for the season opener:
HOU’s D. Howard has common foul upgraded to Flagrant 1 (WCF Game 5, 3:35/qtr 4), suspended one game to open 2015-16 regular season.
— NBA Official (@NBAOfficial) May 29, 2015
Howard had some controversial calls throughout the course of the series, but it looks like the NBA finally got it right. Howard hit Iguodala with a hard shot around the neck area and the NBA has made it clear that is simply not going to be tolerated.
At the time it seemed like Iguodala was seriously hurt, luckily that was not the case, but that shot from Howard was unnecessary. Howard does not have a history of being a dirty player, but it looks like his frustrations got the best of him.
The NBA should schedule the Warriors and Rockets for the first game of the season next year. Especially if the Warriors are raising a banner in the season opener.