Golden State Warriors: 5 Takeaways From 1st Round Series

Now that the Golden State Warriors have finished off the Houston Rockets, here are the biggest takeaways from their first round playoff series.

Wednesday night, the Golden State Warriors put the 2015-16 Houston Rockets out of their misery with a series-clinching, 33-point rout in Game 5. Despite James Harden‘s game-high 35 points, the Dubs stormed out to a 17-point first quarter lead and never looked back, burying a lackluster Houston squad with excellent ball movement, superior chemistry and 13 three-pointers.

In what became a gentleman’s sweep (and would have been a straight up sweep if not for Harden’s Game 3 game-winner), it’d be easy to write off the series as the meaningless domination of a lackluster, uninspired Rockets team. But heading into the second round with Stephen Curry still on the mend, what can we take from this series moving forward?

From how the Warriors have played without Curry, to their likely second round opponent, to recent surges in play from Golden State’s other marquee players, there are still a few things to keep an eye on as the Dubs advance to the conference semifinals.

Without further ado, here’s a look at five takeaways from the Golden State Warriors’ commanding five-game victory in the first round of the 2016 NBA Playoffs.

Next: No. 5