Who Will Grab The Momentum In The Western Conference Finals Game 3?

steemsports (80)in #steemsports • 6 years ago

SteemSports Presenter:@mateonav53

SteemSports Editor:@scottybuckets

We've got ourselves a series now folks! At least it feels like it. After the Rockets walloped the Warriors into a 22-point victory on Wednesday night we can say that the Rockets have what it takes to compete with the superteam to end all superteams. Houston has no answer for Kevin Durant, but if they play air-tight defense on Golden State's surrounding players and continue to circulate the ball on offense, then there's a chance. But If the bay area comes up with a victory, then Houston's odds will become slimmer and slimmer. Every game will turn into a must-win for them.

The Warriors ultimately did their job in this first pair of games. They stole one game on the road before making the trip back to Oracle Arena. They played incredibly in Game 1, but lost a bit of their edge when the Rockets were piling it on in Game 2.

Steve Kerr expected the Rockets to come out firing based on how badly they beat them in the first game. He remarked in an interview with ESPN that it was his team's lack of focus ultimately doomed them. The Warriors were turning the ball over a ton when the game was still within reach. That's something that can easily be corrected for Game 3.

I'm excited to see what kind of adjustments Golden State will make in their two-game homestand. Maybe they won't need to make any serious strategic adjustments at all. In this playoffs, we've seen the Warriors just stick to their game plan and kick it up on steroids after their opponents take one game off of them. We saw it in the first round with the Spurs and second with the Pelicans.

Houston's defenders did an amazing job of relentlessly targeting Steph Curry, which denied him clean looks and prevented him from ever settling into any kind of flow. He's seen this tactic before, especially in the later playoff rounds. I think he's going to adapt to their scheme in Game 3 and go off for a big night in front of the home crowd fans. If he's unable to shake Houston's defenders once more, maybe Curry's injury is having a bigger impact on his game than previously thought.

At the end of the day, there's a strong possibility that Game 2 might be the only game the Rockets will take. Maybe they'll take another to push it to a 6 game series, but I still see the Warriors prevailing in the West. Game 3 could change all of that though. It'll make a massive statement if Houston beats the Warriors in their own building in a playoff game. The Warriors have in fact won 15 straight postseason games at home. I think Golden State will take the Game 3 victory though and go up comfortably 2-1 in a 119-105 win.

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