A lot has been made over the last two seasons about how the Golden State Warriors are nothing more than a soft, jump-shooting team that will ultimately crack under the pressure of a physical series against a team that knows how to get under their skin. The Houston Rockets tried that in Game One. It did not work.
Throughout the game, Houston attempted to get into the heads of the Warriors by being physical with point guard Stephen Curry, almost to the point of physical assault during one instance. Except, it still did not work. It only fired up the Warriors even more, and it led to a beatdown at Oracle Arena.
From Marcus Thompson II, Bay Area News Group Columnist:
“All you’re doing is waking a monster,” Draymond Green said. “People look at our game, how we play and think we’re soft. But we like when you test us. We want you to test.”
Golden State loves when teams try to get physical and test them. All you have to do is ask Draymond Green and when they did, he gave the answer you see above. There’s nothing more intimidating in sports than waking up a sleeping giant. The Warriors are willing to grind it out and do what it takes to repeat.
Though the game did take its toll, especially on Curry, the Warriors still walked out with a victory. If Houston’s plan is to try and rile up Golden State, then good luck. It’s obviously quite apparent that the Rockets lack the talent on the court to compete, so maybe turning it into a street fight is their only chance.