We are now only one round away from the NBA Finals, with the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics fighting to represent the Eastern Conference, while the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets battle it out in the West.
The wagering arena shows that the Rockets have been the favourites to win it all since the NBA Playoffs began. Even the betting sites all the way from Australia [such as CrownBet] show NBA Odds suggesting that the market favours this team. Houston will have to prove that by getting past the juggernaut that is the Warriors, who have made it to the NBA Finals for three years in a row, winning two of them.
Many pundits suggest that this series between the Warriors and Rockets, which kicks off Monday night at 9 p.m. on TNT, as the real NBA Finals. Houston and Golden State finished with the two best records in the league this season, and were easily the two best teams overall.
The Warriors have mostly the same roster from last season, featuring their death line-up of Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and Andre Iguodala. Jordan Bell and Nick Young are the two differences in comparison to last year's roster.
Injuries throughout the season prevented them from getting No. 1 seed, allowing Houston to nab the top spot. However, the Rockets aren't flukes.
They were 2-1 in the regular-season series with the Warriors, and the backcourt tandem of Chris Paul and likely MVP James Harden has proven to be dangerous alongside the team's plethora of 3-point shooting threats.
At the start of the season, I actually had the Rockets finishing third in the West behind the Oklahoma City Thunder and Golden State. But they have proven me and many others wrong this season.
Overall, Houston has played well this regular season and postseason. They deserve to be the favourites, but all of that will just make the Warriors hungrier for this series. You can see that from Draymond Green's recent comments about Houston.
I think the biggest factor is going to be matchups and health. How will the elite point guard battle of CP3 vs Curry go? Can Paul, a solid defender, contain Curry? Curry is lighting it up from beyond-the-arc, but he also dealt with injuries throughout the year.
Klay has been known as one of the top wing defenders in the league. Can he do enough to stop Harden? Or can The Beard still drop buckets and draw fouls? Other matchups like Trevor Ariza vs KD will be intriguing. We'll likely see some Clint Capela vs Draymond action as well.
History also comes into play. The Rockets are full of stereotypes of coming up short in the playoffs. There's Mike D'Antoni, who has lost numerous times in the playoffs despite tremendous regular season success.
Then there's James Harden, who has noticeably choked in the playoffs before such as last year against the San Antonio Spurs and in the 2012 NBA Finals with the Thunder.
Chris Paul has the stereotype of being a playoff-choker, though his stats say otherwise (his Los Angeles Clippers have blown a 3-1 lead before, though). However, this will be his first conference finals appearance, and who knows how that will affect him—if it all.
But this year's Rockets team feels different. D'Antoni has changed the way he coached in compared to the past with the seven-seconds-or-less Phoenix Suns. Harden has been playing another level this year, as well as CP3.
But with all things considered, I think I will have to go with the Warriors. Now, believe me, I will be rooting for Houston to win this. I am personally rooting for a Rockets vs Cavs Finals, but I just cannot bet against the Warriors.
At the end of the day, their core of KD-Curry-Draymond-Klay is going to be a problem. I think only injuries or choking is going to make them lose. For the Rockets, I believe they are going to need to rely heavily on Harden and Paul to win.
Can I see Houston proving us wrong? Easily. If Houston wins this series, it will probably be in at least six games though. As for the Warriors, I really would not be surprised if they are capable of sweeping or winning in five games. They are just that kind of team.
Pencil in the Warriors as my pick, as they would reach their fourth straight Finals. I hope I am proven wrong...
Warriors in 6
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