Houston Rockets vs. Golden State Warriors Preview and Predictions 05-26-2018
25th May 2018 by Gracenote
the houston rockets are on the brink of the franchise's first trip to the nba finals since 1995 but will be without point guard chris paul when they try to knock off a proud defending champion. the rockets, who took a 3-2 series lead with a home win in game 5, will take the first of their two shots at earning one more win when they visit the golden state warriors for game 6 on saturday.
the only downside to the 98-94 game 5 win for houston was the sight of paul leaving with a hamstring injury in the final minute, and he was ruled out of game 6 on friday. "it's obviously not something we wanted," rockets coach mike d'antoni told reporters before friday's practice. "i hate it for him above all. he's practically won us the past two games. but it's a great opportunity for other guys, and we have plenty to choose from. we'll be ready." the warriors, who represented the west in the last three nba finals, are not panicking about being one loss away from an early vacation. "i feel great about where we are right now," golden state coach steve kerr told reporters after game 5. "that may sound crazy, but i feel it. i know exactly what i'm seeing out there, and we defended them beautifully (thursday night). we got everything we needed. just too many turnovers, too many reaches, and if we settle down a little bit, we're going to be in really good shape."
tv: 9 p.m. et, tnt
about the rockets: houston won the last two games despite a historic shooting slump from mvp candidate james harden, who missed his last 20 3-point attempts after going 0-of-11 from beyond the arc on thursday. "i'm just missing shots," harden told reporters. "but we're winning, and i'm trying to compete on the defensive end and do other things to help my team win. but if we've got a guy like (reserve shooting guard) eric gordon making shots and being aggressive, who cares?" harden scored a series-low 19 points on 5-of-21 shooting in game 5 but is averaging 27.4 points against golden state.
about the warriors: star forward kevin durant scored a team-high 29 points in game 5 but was 8-of-22 from the floor and got caught in isolation several times instead of moving the ball. "yeah, they're switching a lot when i get in the post now," durant explained to reporters. "i can feel them bringing a guy over, so i just got to make the right play. but, yeah, (i need to) probably mix it up a bit and see where i can get different catches and touches because they're kind of figuring stuff out for us." durant is averaging 31.2 points on 46.5 percent shooting in the series after shooting 51.6 percent during the regular season.
buzzer beaters
1. warriors sf andre iguodala (knee) sat out the last two games and is questionable for game 6.
2. houston c clint capela recorded his first double-double of the series with 12 points and 14 rebounds on thursday.
3. golden state sg klay thompson played through a knee strain in game 5 and scored 23 points on 8-of-14 shooting.
prediction: warriors 110, rockets 101
25th May 2018 by Gracenote
the houston rockets are on the brink of the franchise's first trip to the nba finals since 1995 but will be without point guard chris paul when they try to knock off a proud defending champion. the rockets, who took a 3-2 series lead with a home win in game 5, will take the first of their two shots at earning one more win when they visit the golden state warriors for game 6 on saturday.
the only downside to the 98-94 game 5 win for houston was the sight of paul leaving with a hamstring injury in the final minute, and he was ruled out of game 6 on friday. "it's obviously not something we wanted," rockets coach mike d'antoni told reporters before friday's practice. "i hate it for him above all. he's practically won us the past two games. but it's a great opportunity for other guys, and we have plenty to choose from. we'll be ready." the warriors, who represented the west in the last three nba finals, are not panicking about being one loss away from an early vacation. "i feel great about where we are right now," golden state coach steve kerr told reporters after game 5. "that may sound crazy, but i feel it. i know exactly what i'm seeing out there, and we defended them beautifully (thursday night). we got everything we needed. just too many turnovers, too many reaches, and if we settle down a little bit, we're going to be in really good shape."
tv: 9 p.m. et, tnt
about the rockets: houston won the last two games despite a historic shooting slump from mvp candidate james harden, who missed his last 20 3-point attempts after going 0-of-11 from beyond the arc on thursday. "i'm just missing shots," harden told reporters. "but we're winning, and i'm trying to compete on the defensive end and do other things to help my team win. but if we've got a guy like (reserve shooting guard) eric gordon making shots and being aggressive, who cares?" harden scored a series-low 19 points on 5-of-21 shooting in game 5 but is averaging 27.4 points against golden state.
about the warriors: star forward kevin durant scored a team-high 29 points in game 5 but was 8-of-22 from the floor and got caught in isolation several times instead of moving the ball. "yeah, they're switching a lot when i get in the post now," durant explained to reporters. "i can feel them bringing a guy over, so i just got to make the right play. but, yeah, (i need to) probably mix it up a bit and see where i can get different catches and touches because they're kind of figuring stuff out for us." durant is averaging 31.2 points on 46.5 percent shooting in the series after shooting 51.6 percent during the regular season.
buzzer beaters
1. warriors sf andre iguodala (knee) sat out the last two games and is questionable for game 6.
2. houston c clint capela recorded his first double-double of the series with 12 points and 14 rebounds on thursday.
3. golden state sg klay thompson played through a knee strain in game 5 and scored 23 points on 8-of-14 shooting.
prediction: warriors 110, rockets 101