THE other day’s game between Houston and Golden State was a good one. James Harden, as usual, was on fire, in the process leading all scorers in that game with 41 points. Things went a bit testy early in the first quarter when Draymond Green, the league’s top getter of technical fouls, tried to do some bullying with a not-so-friendly shove on The Beard, but good thing the bearded one was cool headed.
The first half was a shootout but when the second half started. Warrior nation prevented a Rocket lift-off by putting defensive pressure on other players not named Harden. Then Kevin Durant (37 points) and Klay Thompson (28 points) went to work and went on to win Game 1 of the WC Finals. There’s too much individual play with Houston and if they continue like this, they can never win over a GSW team that shares the ball.
The Rockets and the Warriors are meeting on its second Conference Finals in three years. The last time they met was in 2015, with Golden State eliminating Houston in five games. I think Houston can win two games but if some twist of fate the Warriors falter, the Rockets could advance to the Finals in seven games. They need to put more premium on defending Durant and Thompson. The last time the Rockets reached the NBA Finals was in 1995 and swept the Shaquille O’Neal led Orlando Magic for the league title.
Warriors won. The expected. My tarot cards say that they will advance to the Finals in six games.
Let’s go over towards the Eastern front. Even the game’s best player can have an off night and he chose Game 1 to have one. Averaging almost 38 points the last 10 playoff games, LeBron James had a quite 15 points when Boston manhandled Cleveland right from the start. Bron and company had several open looks but the ball couldn’t find its mark. In contrast, the Celtics were in a groove with four players combining for 80 points. Boston won. The unexpected.
Game 2 is yet to be played as I write this but this will be different and LeBron should have recovered from his slump. It seems like when he’s not playing well, his teammates also are on a mini slump. Coach Tyron Lue has overdependence on LBJ. Cleveland has a better roster compared to Boston’s yet players are not rotated well. The Celtics are undermanned yet Coach Brad Stevens find ways to insert his players at crucial moments.
The Cavs should have played better and Lue probably had given minutes to Rodney Hood. He has more spring on his legs compared to George Hill. LeBron could have had a triple-double game with Kevin Love contributing 20-plus points and 10-plus rebounds. But did the Celtics still be having the luck of the Irish? With a loud home court crowd, they probably had.
Much as I wanted Boston to advance, the most they can have is two wins. LeBron and company are just too much for them. The scenario would have been different had Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward been around.
The same with Golden State, Cleveland advances in six games./PN
