Golden State Warriors: Western Conference Finals Preview
The Battle Inside
As we mentioned briefly on the last slide, this series will be a lot different from the regular season meetings. In those four games, the Dubs out-rebounded Houston 92-75 overall, but as we’ve mentioned, the Rockets didn’t have Howard and Smith for two of them and they didn’t have Jones for all four.
If the Warriors can’t keep the Rockets off the glass like the Clippers couldn’t, this series could get interesting.
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On the defensive end, the Dubs need to close out stops and missed shots with defensive rebounds that flow into transition points. The Rockets aren’t the most efficient team from the floor, and Golden State’s elite defense will force them into some bad misses. But all that is for naught if Houston is able to crash the boards and turn those misses into second chance points.
On the other end, the Warriors don’t have as much to worry about, but what happens if the Splash Brothers suddenly go cold as they did in Games 2 and 3 of their last series? If no one’s able to give the Dubs second chance looks with offensive rebounds, a string of missed shots could really keep this series competitive.
Can Draymond Green keep Josh Smith and Terrence Jones off the glass and shut down the Smoove-to-Dwight alley-oop show? Can Andrew Bogut protect the paint without getting into foul trouble against a resurgent Howard? If they can’t, the Rockets could have a big advantage down low.
Next: The Answer For Curry?