The defending NBA Champion Golden State Warriors are heading for a collision course with another high scoring team in the Houston Rockets. The Warriors have ruled the Western Conference without the slightest bit of contention, that is, until the Rockets made their presence felt and pose a threat to the Warriors’ chances of making a fourth straight NBA Finals appearance. Will Golden State be able to make it a fourth Finals appearance and join the likes of the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, and Miami Heat in that company, or will Houston thwart those plans? Only way to find out is through matchup analysis.
Point Guard: Stephen Curry vs. Chris Paul: The battle of the premier point guards will be on full display as Stephen Curry and Chris Paul will clash against one another. While Curry missed much of the first round when the Warriors defeated the San Antonio Spurs in five games, but when Curry came back for the second round series with the New Orleans Pelicans, he didn’t miss a beat at all. Chris Paul, who’s been known to enter the postseason and not make a conference finals appearance, has been very consistent throughout the playoffs. Paul averaged 24.6 points, 7 rebounds, and 6.2 assists per game, while Curry averages 19.6 per game. While this is Paul’s first conference finals, Curry’s not only had experience in this stage of the postseason, he’s won three straight times in the conference finals as well, leading to a finals appearance with the Warriors. This will certainly be an interesting story to follow as the Warriors and the Rockets battle it out. Advantage: Golden State.
Shooting Guard: Klay Thompson vs. James Harden: Klay Thompson will have his hands full taking on an offensive juggernaut in James Harden. While both players have been known to light it up on the scoring load, defense will also come into play. While Golden State are an offensive team, they also work on defense, and that’s where Thompson can do some of the work against Harden. If Thompson can contain Harden, then the series will definitely go in the Warriors’ favor. Harden, on the other hand, isn’t known for his defense, but if he can try to disrupt the Warriors’ flow or help out with that issue in some way, it would benefit him. Thompson averages 19.8 points per game, while Harden averages 28 points per game. It’s going to be interesting to see if Thompson can put The Beard in his place on defense, if not, expect the two of them to try and outmatch each other on offense. Advantage: Houston.
Small Forward: Kevin Durant vs. Trevor Ariza: This matchup doesn’t favor Ariza (pronounced Ah-ree-za) in any way possible. For one thing, Durant has a lot of length over Ariza and can stretch out his defense. The only thing Ariza can do is hope for a mismatch in his favor that will allow him to get off some baskets for him. Ariza will have his hands full with Durant, and will have hard time trying to contain from scoring. Advantage: Golden State.
Power Forward: Draymond Green vs. P.J. Tucker: Draymond Green and P.J. Tucker are going to have a physical matchup throughout this series and it will certainly not be pretty. Green loves to play rough, especially on the defensive end, and the same can be said for Tucker, although Tucker doesn’t use the mind games and trash talk like Green parlays. While Tucker averages 11.8 points per game, it pales in comparison to Green’s numbers in the postseason. Green averages 14.8 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 10 assists per game. This is another matchup that doesn’t favor Houston, unless they take precaution and do some damage control against Green. Advantage: Golden State.
Center: Javale McGee vs. Clint Capela: Clint Capela (pronounced Ca-pel-la) has been climbing up the ranks for Houston in the postseason and has been quite a surprise to watch. Not to be outdone, Javale McGee does his work on the defensive and rebounding end. He doesn’t have to put up gaudy numbers like Curry or Durant, but he can be useful for the Dubs when they need defense. Capela averages 13 points and 10.2 rebounds, while McGee averages 2 points and 2 rebounds per game. Though the matchups between the Warriors and the Rockets will be stellar, this one matchup seems to be a little lopsided. Advantage: Houston.
Coach: Steve Kerr vs. Mike D’Antoni: Steve Kerr and Mike D’Antoni are some of the more successful coaches in the NBA today. With Kerr, he has the championship caliber, dating back to his playing days and having won five championships (three with the Chicago Bulls and two with the San Antonio Spurs). D’Antoni on the other hand, found success leading the Phoenix Suns from 2003 to 2008 when they were a playoff contender and almost made the NBA Finals back in 2006. While the varying degrees of success are something to take note of, one thing that does stand out is that, Kerr has been to the Finals more than D’Antoni. Experience does play a factor in this matchup in a lot of ways. D’Antoni has been coaching longer than Kerr, going back to 1990 with the Italian basketball team Olimpia Milano, but Kerr knows about making it to the promised land. It’s going to be like watching two geniuses playing a game of chess when Kerr and D’Antoni face off in providing schemes, tactics, and know how to win the series. Advantage: Golden State.
Bench and X-Factor: The Warriors’ bench consists of Zaza Pachulia (pronounced Pa-choo-lee-ya), Nick Young, Omri Casspi, Kevon Looney, David West, Shaun Livingston, Patrick McCaw, and Andre Iguodala (pronounced E-guo-da-la). A collective group of players that can not only shoot the basket, but can also add some nasty defense. On the Rockets side, you have Gerald Green, Eric Gordon, Ryan Anderson, Joe Johnson, Nene Hilario, Zhou Qi (pronounced Joe Chee), and Luc Mbah A Moute (pronounced Bah-a-moot-te). The Rockets are just as deep in terms of scoring, defense, and rebounding and can very well matchup with the Warriors. It will be very interesting to see how these two benches would fare against each other. The Warriors have an X-Factor in Iguodala, while the Rockets have Eric Gordon. Advantage: Even.
The Warriors and the Rockets are set to clash against one another on Monday in the Toyota Center in Houston. There’s a lot of marquee matchups galore, with the Splash Brothers facing off against an identical high scoring backcourt duo of Harden and Paul. This Western Conference Finals matchup will certainly be one to remember. Prediction: Either team in six or seven games.
The Heat Check Magazine 