(1)Houston Rockets (65-17) Vs (2)Golden State Warriors (58-24)

The Western Conference Finals matchup has the top seed Houston Rockets taking on the 2nd seed Golden State Warriors. These two teams played three times during the regular season with the Rockets winning once at home and once on the road. They met on opening night where the Rockets made a spectacular 4th quarter comeback to steal the victory. The Warriors only win came in Houston on a night where Kevin Durant and James Harden didn’t play. Every game was a high scoring affair with the teams combining for at least 224 points in every meeting. Houston has home court advantage and that may prove pivotal should the series go to seven games.

The Rockets defeated the Utah Jazz in five games to advance to the Western Conference Finals. They now face the team that has represented the West the last 3 seasons. James Harden will need to continue to put up his MVP type numbers. Chris Paul is making his first conference finals appearance and his play will be crucial to the Rockets success. He averaged 22 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists in the three games against the Warriors during the regular season. Eric Gordon also averaged 20 points per game vs the Warriors and they will need his scoring off the bench in what has the potential to be a track meet series.

The Warriors defeated the New Orleans Pelicans in five games to make it to the Western Conference Finals. Steph Curry returned in the last series and looked like his old self. With their big 3 back and playing their best; that aura of invincibility has returned for this Warriors squad. They are loaded with talent, have a deep bench and will present matchup problems for the Rockets. In high scoring shootouts, you have to figure them to be the favorites even though the Rockets have home court advantage.

This is will be the 3rd time in four years that the Rockets and Warriors are meeting in the playoffs. Both previous meetings have ended with the Warriors winning in five games. James Harden has had an incredible year by any standard but for this season to be considered a success he must lead his team past the Warriors and win a championship. That will be very tough to accomplish however as the Warriors are back to full health and firing on all cylinders. There’s no doubt in my mind that the Warriors are the best team in the league when they are completely healthy. I predict the Warriors win this series in 6 games.

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_{Cover photo credits: By Keith Allison from Hanover, MD, USA (James Harden) [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons}

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_{Author: @sevendst19
Editor: @liberty-minded}

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