Can the Rockets give the Warriors some trouble?
A little more than a year ago, the Houston Rockets were gearing up to take on the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference finals. They went on to lose the series 4-1, but the future looked as bright as ever, and they were a favorite to make it back to the conference finals, if not further.
Fast forward to now, and the Rockets and Warriors are gearing up for a rematch, but this time, it's in the first-round, and there will be two very, very different teams on the court.
That's not a good thing for Houston.
The Rockets have been one of the most disappointing teams in the NBA this season, and narrowly snuck into the playoffs as the eighth seed with a 41-41 record, a giant step back from the 56-26 record and No. 2 seed they posted last season.
As for the Warriors, well ... we all know how good they are.
But despite Houston's continued struggles and shortcomings, they still have their fair share of talent. James Harden is one of the best offensive players in the league, and trailed only Stephen Curry in points per game this season (29 points per game). Dwight Howard, although he has been nothing but a shell of his old self for the past two seasons, still has loads of talent, as well as the potential to up his game to the next level just as he did in last year's playoffs.
Combined with a three-and-d-guy in Trevor Ariza, a wiry point guard in Patrick Beverley, and the recent re-emergence of Michael Beasley, the Rockets have the ability to keep up with the league's upper echelon teams.
But the question remains: do they have enough to give the record-breaking Warriors a little bit of trouble, or will this series be short and sweet, finally closing the lid on a disastrous season in Houston?
NBA Hall of Famer and former Indiana Pacers three-point shooting aficionado Reggie Miller is still waiting for that question to be answered.
"The question to me is, which Houston Rockets team is gonna show up," Miller said. "Is it gonna be last year's team that was dedicated towards one another at the defensive end and shared the basketball, or is it gonna be this years' team, from time to time, when it's been all James Harden and really no one else."
In addition to Harden's innate ability to score the basketball, Miller thinks that Beverley -- and how he's able to guard Stephen Curry -- will be the x-factor.
"We know Beverley can be an irritant," Miller said. "We saw it obviously with Russell Westbrook. He likes to yap. He likes to get in (your head), he picks up full court, he does things that are a little bit, kind of shady. It's gonna be fun to watch. He didn't play in that series at all last year, and Curry went absolutely bazonkers. So that will be a fun matchup."
The first game of the series will tip off at 3:30 pm ET on ABC.
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