May 19, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Harrison Barnes (40) dunks the basketball against Houston Rockets guard Corey Brewer (33) during the fourth quarter in game one of the Western Conference Finals of the NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Rockets 110-106. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
I love Game Ones because they take some of the abstract concepts we talk about and put them to the test.
Game One of Warriors/Rockets made me more confident that the Rockets have what it takes to win one or more games at full strength (well, as full strength as they will get this series) but it appears less likely that they will be that lucky. Simply put, Houston needs Dwight Howard. Even though Dwight struggled offensively, his interior defense played a huge part in the Rockets’ early success. Despite being limited after the first quarter, the Warriors made only two of six shots with Howard as the primary rim defender. He was on the court for Golden State’s big second quarter run but clearly was limited after Josh Smith fell into him.
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The Rockets may end up being the next team without a clear answer for the Draymond at Center lineup. Houston tried to exploit it with posting up Dwight but he attempted to use his size to just back down Mr. Green instead of establishing position beforehand. One wrinkle came in the form of Shaun Livingston playing with this group instead of Andre Iguodala. That change took away one of Golden State’s best team defenders but added the offensive component the Warriors envisioned Iguodala taking on when they signed him. After carrying the offense early in the second, Livingston continued to play well and arguably had his best all-around game as a pro.
The TLC combination (Thompson, Livingston and Curry) only played 128 minutes together in the regular season but was Golden State’s fourth-best offensive trio with more than 100 minutes together, largely because Stephen Curry can play both on and off the ball with another reliable ballhandler on the floor. It also makes Klay’s life easier on offense and he actually had a great stretch creating for himself and others in that second quarter.
Despite having a nice box score line and playing a good game, it was not a typical strong Stephen Curry performance. The MVP scored 34 points but never had more than 11 in a single quarter. In fact, he had two points and two assists during the second when the Warriors went on their definitive run. Those two points came on the buzzer-beater over Clint Capela to end the half.
I also want to single out Festus Ezeli for his strong performance. Coach Kerr again went with David Lee as Andrew Bogut’s replacement and the Rockets took advantage early and often against Golden State’s worst interior defender. The value of rim protection comes in two basic forms: making shots at the
basket less likely to go in and reducing the amount of attempts opponents take in that dangerous area. The problem with Lee at Center against the Rockets comes from that second factor and likely will not change the rest of the series. Festus did a nice job making Houston work for their baskets and grabbed two offensive rebounds. If Coach Kerr wants to rely more heavily on the Draymond at Center lineup, and he should, Bogut and Ezeli should be able to handle the remainder of the minutes at that spot.
The Warriors should also gain some confidence because they weathered a pretty strong storm from James Harden. Even though he was not getting the calls he often draws (not a criticism of the refs- they did a solid job), Harden contributed to his team’s offensive success early and kept on making challenging shots late. While the NBA is a make or miss league, Harden is one of the few players who can hit those tough looks more consistently than the rest of the league and that holds immense value when combined with his ballhandling and passing. Winning a game where James dropped 28, 11 and 9 on only 20 shots is an accomplishment, especially since he got most of those buckets in the final three quarters rather than during Houston’s best run.
Game Two marks a major opportunity because winning it requires Houston to win four of five including at least one at Oracle. If they build on what worked on Tuesday and clean up some of the correctable mistakes, they can gain firm control of the series on Thursday.