Four games of the Western Conference Finals are in the books, and the Warriors lead the Rockets by a 3-1 margin.
That overall mark may not feel surprising, but the route the series has taken to get there has been a bit bizarre.
For two games, the teams appeared almost evenly matched, with Stephen Curry and James Harden — the league’s top two finishers in MVP voting — trading blow for blow in two games that went down to the wire in Oakland.
Then in Game 3, the Warriors absolutely blew the doors off of Houston, grabbing a commanding 3-0 series lead by virtue of a 35-point beatdown in Toyota Center.
But the Game 4 that many predicted would be Golden State’s title coronation for the Western Conference? Instead, the Rockets climbed off the mat in stunning fashion, racing out to a record-setting 45-point first quarter and cruising to a 128-115 victory to extend the series. The Rockets, now 4-0 against elimination in these playoffs, became just the second team in NBA history to win four straight elimination games by double digits in the same postseason.
So after tying the greatest series comeback ever in their last series, do the Rockets have any hopes of becoming the first NBA team to ever climb out of a 3-0 hole? Josh Reese of CBS Radio in Houston (Sports Radio 610) and the Red & Orange Report podcast joins me to discuss what we’ve learned from this series and whether Houston has any realistic chance moving forward.
AMONG TOPICS EXPLORED:
- Just how historically great have Curry and Harden been?
- Was not suspending Dwight Howard for his Game 4 elbow the right call?
- What happened behind the scenes during Curry’s Game 4 injury scare?
- Did Klay Thompson find himself during Curry’s absence?
- Who is the X-factor for the Rockets after Harden and Howard?
- Does Steve Kerr need to make any significant adjustment for the Warriors?
- Who wins Game 5?
Ben DuBose is a veteran sports reporter who has followed the Houston Rockets and the NBA since Hakeem Olajuwon was Akeem Olajuwon. He writes for both SheridanHoops and ClutchFans, and his podcasts with Josh Reese can be found on the Red & Orange Report. You can follow him on Twitter.
