2018 NBA CHAMP GST WARRIORS v. 2015 SW DIV CHAMP HOU ROCKETS
Warriors: 58-24, 1st Pac Div, 3rd Off, 11th Def
d. Spurs West 1st Rnd 4-1
d. Pelicans West Semis 4-1
d. Rockets West Finals 4-3
d. Cavs NBA Finals 4-0
#37 overal seed
d. '87 Pistons (2-0, Curry/Durant PotG)
d. '96 Magic (2-1 Steph 1 PotG)
d. '07 Spurs (2-1 Steph/KD)
Regional Final: d. '12 Bulls (2-0 KD)
Coach: Steve Kerr
Starters
C JaVale McGee (30 Nevada) 4.8 PPG 22.3 PER 2.7 Win Shares .5
F Draymond Green (27 Michigan St) 11 16.1 6 2.8
F Kevin Durant (29 Texas) 26.4 26 10.4 5.5 VORP
G Steph Curry (29 Davidson) 26.4 28.2 9.1 4
G Klay Thompson (27 Washington St) 20 16 4 1
Rotation Reserves
C Zaza Pachulia (33) 5.4 17 3.3 .5
F David West (37 Xavier) 6.8 20.9 3.5 1.3
F Jordan Bell (23 Oregon) 4.6 18 2.9 1
G Shawn Livingston (32) 5.5 11.6 1.8 -.3
G Andre Iguodala (34 Arizona) 6 11.2 3.2 .7
Leaders: Curry: 1st FT%, 4th PER, 1st True Shooting, 5th Eff FG%, 2nd WS/48, 3rd +/- 3rd team All NBA
Durant 5th Blocks/Gm, 1st Team All NBA
If the Warriors are going to make the Sweet 16, they need this team to do it; KD and Steph are both 29, both 20+ PER (along with McGee and West) Durant's got double digit WS. These are the back to back GSW Champs, the last title in tha run (as of early 2022); top 3 offense in 2018. Four All Stars - KD/Steph, 27 year old Draymond and Klay. The Warriors broke the record for largest NBA Finals point differential. Durant was the MVP of the NBA Finals. Draymond was 2nd Team All Defense.
Rockets: 56-26, 1st SW Div, 12th Off/8th Def
d. Mavs West 1st Rnd 4-1
d. Clips West Semis 4-3
Lost Warriors West Finals 4-1
#213 overall seed
d. '94 Sonics (2-1 Harden 2 PotG)
d. '11 Lakers (2-0 Harden)
d. '20 Celtics (2-0 Harden)
Regional Final d. '90 Lakers (2-1 Harden 1 PotG)
Coach Kevin McHale
Starters
C Dwight Howard 29 15.8 PPG 19.2 PER 3.6 WS .5
F Terrence Jones 23-Kentucky 11.7 18.3 3 .5
F Trevor Ariza 29- UCLA 12.8 12.7 6.6 2.2
G Jason Terry 37-Arizona 7 11.4 3.6 1
G James Harden 25-Arizona St 27.4 26.7 16.4 8.1 VORP
Rotation Reserves
C Donatas Motlejunas 24 12 14.4 4.7 .8
F Josh Smith 29 12 15.2 2.1 .8
F Corey Brewer 28- Florida 11.9 14 2.7 .3
G Patrick Beverley 26-Arkansas 10.1 11.3 3.5 .9
G Pablo Priglioni 37 3 11.4 1.1 .2
Leaders Harden 2nd PPG, 3rd Steals, 4th PER, 1st WS, 4th WS/48, 3rd +/-, 1st VORP, 2nd Trip Doub, 1st Team All NBA
Ariza 4th Stls
Houston's the 14th seed in the region, 25 year old James Harden leads the way - 1st in both Win Shares and VORP, 4th in PER, he made the All Star team. Howard and McGee were the 2020 Lakers centers - they oppose each other here.
The '18 Warriors beat the Rockets in the West Finals.
The '15 Rockets lost to the Warriors in the West Finals.
Matchup
C Howard (Rockets)
F Dray (Warriors)
F KD (Warriors)
G Steph (Warriors)
G Harden (Rockets)
Bench: Rockets
Gm 1: Oakland: Oracle: Dick Stockton/Jim Barnett
1Qtr
9 Rockets 12 Warriors 9
Warriors Klay(3) Durant(3) McGee(3)
Rockets Terry(3) Terry(3) Harden(3) Terry(3)
6 Rockets 18 Warrior 16
Warriors Durant, Klay(3) Dray
Rockets Terry, Howard, Harden
Yeah, that's 7 combined 3s in the first 3 minutes.
3 Rockets 22 Warriors 22
Warriors Klay, Klay, Dray
Rockets Howard, Brewer
1Score Warriors 20 Rockets 27
Warriors KD, KD, Dray, Iguodala
Rockets Harden, Smith, Donatas(1)
Teams who know each other well; Steph has yet to score.
2Qtr
9 Warriors 35 Rockets 31
Warriors West, Livingston(3)
Rockets Brewer, Brewer
6 Warriors 45 Rockets 40
Warriors Iguodala, West, Iguodala, Curry, West
Rockets Donatas, Brewer, Prigioni, Howard
Couple of mediocre defenses, you expect some buckets in this series.
3 Warriors 55 Rockets 47
Warriors Steph, Klay(3) KD, Steph(3)
Rockets harden, Jones, harden(3)
HScore Warriors 64 Rockets 53
Warriors McGee, steph, KD, Steph(3)
Rockets Howard, Jones, Brewer
10 for Steph in the 2nd.
3Qtr
9 Warriors 73 Rockets 53
Warriors KD(3) Steph, Klay, Klay
Rockets
6 Warriors 82 Rockets 61
Warriors Steph, West, KD(3) McGee
Rockets Howard, Beverley, Howard, Harden
Game 1 is over - Dubs rolling. 19 for Durant.
3 Warriors 86 Rockets 67
Warriors West, Steph
Rockets Howard, Harden, Jones
3Score Warriors 91 Rockets 75
Warriors West(3) Klay
Rockets Ariza(3) Harden, Harden(3)
Harden's got 21 - Rockets way down.
4Qtr
9 Warriors 100 Rockets 84
Warriors Steph, Klay(3) KD, Dray
Rockets Howard, Beverley, Harden(3) Smith
6 Warriors 109 Rockets 86
Warriors Iguodala, Bell, Klay, Steph(3)
Rockets Donatas
3 Warriors 126 Rockets 92
Warriors Steph(3) KD, KD, mcGee(3) Steph, Steph, Klay(3)
Rockets Brewer, harden, Howard
FScore Warriors 132 Rockets 101
Warriors Casspi(3) Looney(3)
Rockets Jones, Terry(3) Terry(3) ariza(1)
Just like real life. Warriors beat the Rockets. Warriors win all 4 qtrs here.
Steph: 30 pts/12 boards-Player of the Game
Durant: 25 pts/7 assists/5 boards
Klay: 27 pts/7 boards
McGee: 10 pts/5 boards
West: 13 pts/5 boards/5 assists
Harden: 26 pts/6 assists/6 boards
Howard: 18 pts/14 boards
Jones: 8 pts/12 boards
Terry: 17 pts
Brewer: 12 pts/5 boards
Gm 2 Oakland: Oracle: Dick Stockton/Jim Barnett
1Qtr
9 Warriors 6 Rockets 4
Warriors Dray, KD, Klay
Rockets Jones, Howard
6 Warriors 16 Rockets 16
Warriors Steph(3) McGee, Steph(3) McGee
Rockets Howard(1) Ariza(3) Harden, Howard, Harden(4)
4 pt play for James Harden ties the score.
3 Rockets 27 Warriors 23
Warriors Dray, Klay, Dray, West(1)
Rockets Brewer, Brewer, Jones, harden, Harden(3)
1Score Rockets 33 Warriors 31
Warriors KD, Bell, Bell, Livingston
Rockets Ariza(3) Donatas(3)
Buckets. 11 for Harden.
2Qtr
9 Rockets 40 Warriors 33
Warriors KD
Rockets Smith(3) Ariza, harden
6 Rockets 44 Warriors 35
Warriors Dray
Rockets Jones, Howard
Just 4 for the Dubs in 6 minutes and now the Rockets have a nice lead.
3 Rockets 46 Warriors 42
Warriors McGee, Steph(3) McGee
Rockets Harden
HScore Warriors 54 Rockets 52
Warriors KD(3) KD Iguodala(3) Iguodala, Zaza
Rockets Jones, Donatas, Smith
Durant has 11 and the Warriors are back on top.
3Qtr
9 Warriors 64 Rockets 59
Warriors KD, Steph(3) Steph(3) Zaza
Rockets Jones(3) Smith, Smith
6 Warriors 73 Rockets 66
Warriors Zaza(1) Iguodala, West, Steph, Klay
Rockets Harden, Jones(3) Howard
Steph didn't score in the first qtr in game 1 and still wound up PotG - he's got 17 here.
3 Warriors 75 Rockets 69
Warriors West
Rockets Harden(3)
3Score Warriors 84 Rockets 76
Warriors Steph(3) Klay, Bell, Steph
Rockets Jones, Jones, Donatas(3)
22 for Steph - Dubs looking to keep the streak of home teams winning games 1-2 alive.
4Qtr
9 Warriors 86 Rockets 79
Warriors Iguodala
Rockets Harden(1) Howard
6 Warriors 95 Rockets 86
Warriors Klay, Green(1) Steph(3) Iguodala, KD(1)
Rockets Howard, Smith, harden(3)
3 Warriors 104 Rockets 87
Warriors Dray, McGee, Young(3) Casspi
Rockets Jones(1)
FScore Warriors 109 Rockets 93
Warriors Young(3) Jones
Rockets Kostas(3) Canaan(3)
5 Sweet 16 Series - in all 5 the home teams won games 1 and 2 --- and 3, so we'll see if Houston takes the next game.
Steph: 25 pts/7 boards/6 assists-PotG
KD: 14 pts/8 boards/5 assists
Klay: 10 pts
Dray: 11 pts/7 boards
McGee: 10 pts/10 boards
Iguodala: 11 pts
Harden: 24 pts/8 assists/9 boards
Howard: 13 pts/12 boards
Jones: 19 pts/6 boards
Smith: 11 pts
Gm 3 Houston: Toyota Center Bill
Worrell/Mike Fratello
1Qtr
9 Warriors 4 Rockets 3
Rockets Harden(3)
Warriors Steph, McGee
6 Warriors 10 Rockets 7
Rockets Ariza, Harden
Warriors McGee, KD, Klay
Golden St looking for the first sweep in the Sweet 16 and to be the 5th team to advance to the Elite 8.
3 Warriors 17 Rockets 15
Rockets Howard, Howard, Jones, Howard
Warriors Steph(3) KD, West
1Score Warriors 21 Rockets 17
Rockets Brewer,
Warriors McGee, Iguodala
Defense first here in game 3 - do we see a sweep?
2Qtr
9 Rockets 27 Warriors 27
Rockets Beverley(3) Donatas(3) Brewer, Brewer
Warriors Bell, Zaza, West
6 Warriors 36 Rockets 35
Rockets Prigioni(3) Beverley(3) Beverely
Warriors Klay, KD(3) Steph, West
Triples keeping Houston in this
3 Warriors 42 Rockets 37
Rockets Harden
Warriors Bell, Steph, KD
HScore Rockets 46 Warriors 45
Rockets Harden, Howard, Harden, Harden(3)
Warriors KD(3)
9 for Harden in the last 6 - Rockets try to force game 4.
3Qtr
9 Rockets 55 Warriors 52
Rockets Jones, Brewer(3) Jones, Ariza
Warriors McGee(3) McGee, Bell, Bell
6 Rockets 64 Warriors 60
Rockets Jones(1) Brewer, Howard, Howard, Brewer
Warriors Steph(3) Steph(3) Iguodala
A dozen for Dwight Howard.
3 Rockets 75 Warriors 65
Rockets Howard(1) Smith(3) Donatas, Donatas(3) Harden
Warriors Steph(3) Dray
3Score Rockets 84 Warriors 73
Rockets Howard, Harden, Smith(1) Ariza, Howard
Warriors Klay(3) McGee, Steph(3)
It's happening again - home teams have won each game 3 and Houston's up double digits.
4Qtr
9 Rockets 89 Warriors 78
Rockets Brwer, Smith(1) Howard
Warriors Bell, Steph(3)
6 Rockets 103 Warriors 88
Rockets Terry(3) Jones(1) Smith(3) Ariza, Ariza(3) Beverley
Warriors Bell, McGee(1) Steph, Dray(3) KD
Done - we will, once again, see game 4, where, once again, the road team looks to close.
3 Rockets 111 Warriors 94
Rockets Beverley (1) Ariza(3) Howard, Smith
Warriors McGee, KD, Looney
FScore Rockets 120 Warriors 100
Rockets Kostas, Dorsey, Dorsey, Kostas(3)
Warriors Cook(3) Young(3)
You already know the deal - each series has been the same, if form holds, the Warriors win game 4
Howard: 21 pts/13 boards-Player of the Game
Harden: 18 pts/11 assists
Ariza: 14 pts/5 boards
Beverley: 11 pts
Brewer: 15 pts
Smith: 10 pts/5 boards
KD: 16 pts/5 assists
Steph: 26 pts
McGee: 14 pts/6 boards
Bell: 12 pts/7 boards
Gm 4 Houston: Toyota Center Bill Worrell/Mike Fratello
1Qtr
9 Rockets 8 Warriors 8
Rockets Howard, Terry(3) Harden(3)
Warriors Klay, Klay(3) McGee(3)
6 Rockets 18 Warriors 17
Rockets Terry(3) Howard, Howard, Harden(3)
Warriors Dray, Klay, Klay(3) KD
Can Houston break the streak and force the first game 5 in the tournament?
3 Warriors 26 Rockets 24
Rockets Jones, Harden, Harden
Warriors Dray, Klay, KD(3) Dray
1Score Rockets 30 Warriors 28
Rockets Howard, Jones, Donatas
Warriors Klay
17 Klay Thompson points - his best qtr of the tournament.
2Qtr
9 Rockets 35 Warriors 34
Rockets Brewer, Brewer, Donatas(1)
Warriors Bell, Zaza(1) KD(3)
6 Warriors 40 Rockets 35
Rockets
Warriors Steph, KD, West
Dubs defense in the last 3 minutes; Steph has yet to score.
3 Warriors 50 Rockets 42
Rockets Smith, Harden, Brewer(3)
Warriors Iguodala(3) KD(3) West, West
HScore Warriors 53 Rockets 46
Rockets Harden, Prigioni
Warriors KD(3)
Zero points for Steph Curry - Warriors look to close.
3Qtr
9 Warriors 60 Rockets 50
Rockets Howard, Smith
Warriors Steph, Zaza(3) Dray
6 Warriors 66 Rockets 56
Rockets Howard, Howard, Harden
Warriors Steph, West, Steph
Steph opens up with his first 6 points and now there's some daylight as the Warriors look to match each of the prior 4 series winners.
3 Warriors 69 Rockets 60
Rockets Howard(1) Harden(3)
Warriors Livingston(1) McGee
3Score Warriors 77 Rockets 63
Rockets Brewer(3)
Warriors McGee(1) Klay, Steph(3) West
We are clearly seeing the separation here in the Sweet 16 - the better seeded team has taken games 1,2, and if the Warriors hold here, 4 - to win each series.
4Qtr
9 Warriors 85 Rockets 72
Rockets Beverley(3) Smith, Howard, Smith
Warriors Steph(3) Steph(3) McGee
6 Warriors 94 Rockets 78
Rockets Brewer(3) Brewer, Jones(1)
Warriors McGee, Klay, KD, Dray(3)
3 Warriors 105 Rockets 81
Rockets Smith(3)
Warriors Dray, McGee, KD(3) KD, Livingston
FScore Warriors 111 Rockets 81
Rockets
Warriors Livingston, Zaza, KD
Games 1-2-3 Home winners.
Game 4 - Road winner and it ends the series. 5 straight series. Wild.
KD: 25 pts/8 boards/8 assists-Player of the Game
Steph: 17 pts/7 assists- Series MVP
Klay: 18 pts
Dray: 13 pts/13 boards/7 assists
McGee: 12 pts/13 boards/5 assists
West: 10 pts/6 boards
All Tournament Team 1st Team
C Duncan ('13 Spurs 6 PotG)
F Garnett ('08 Celtics 9 PotG)
F Kawhi ('17 Spurs 7 PotG)
G Kobe ('09 Lakers 6 PotG)
G Harden ('15 Rockets 7 PotG)
All Tournament Team 2nd Team
C Kareem ('80 Lakers, 6 PotG)
F Duncan ('04 Spurs 7 PotG)
F LeBron ('20 Lakers 7 PotG)
G Steph ('15 Warriors 5 PotG)
G Magic ('90 Lakers 5 PotG)
